Anoop Tripathi, CTO at Sauce Labs, on AI, Simplicity, and the Future of Software Quality

In this episode, Lucas Hendrich, CTO at Forte Group, sits down with Anoop Tripathi, CTO at Sauce Labs, to discuss how AI is reshaping software development, and why quality, simplicity, and engineering judgment matter more than ever.

“People don’t need a PhD in your product to use it.”

For Anoop, simplicity is not a design preference, but a competitive advantage. From early platform shifts at Citrix to modern SaaS products, he has seen the same pattern repeat: tools that reduce friction consistently outperform those that add complexity.

“The software industry isn’t complex because the problems are complex.”

Anoop argues that much of today’s software complexity is self-inflicted. Over-engineering, layered abstractions, and unnecessary automation often make systems harder to operate, scale, and secure than they need to be.

“AI is going to produce a lot more software.”

As generative AI lowers the cost of writing code, the volume of software will grow exponentially. That shift makes testing and quality engineering more critical—not less. According to Anoop, AI doesn’t eliminate testing; it amplifies the need for it.

“Smart engineers don’t write that much code. They fix code.”

While AI can generate functional software quickly, production-ready systems still require experienced engineers to interpret outputs, refine architectures, and ensure long-term maintainability.

“If you automate everything, you often lose intelligence.”

Anoop cautions against blindly adopting agentic architectures. AI excels in non-deterministic problem spaces, but forcing intelligence into deterministic systems often introduces fragility rather than resilience.

Stay tuned for more conversations at the intersection of autonomy, leadership, and engineering culture on CTO2CTO.