Atlassian CEO, Mike Cannon-Brookes on Why Everything is Overvalued & Are We in an AI Bubble

Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes argues most AI valuations are overvalued, design will be the key differentiator, and software engineering headcount will grow despite AI tools.

• Cannon-Brookes says most AI-era assets are “vastly overvalued” but some will be worth far more — making it an unusually hard investment era.
• Atlassian is hiring more engineering graduates this year than last; he predicts more software engineers in 5 years, not fewer.
• Atlassian built its AI stack to be multi-model by design, able to swap and deploy new models within weeks as they improve every ~3 months.
• Design — not data or models — is Cannon-Brookes’s biggest internal bet; Atlassian has heavily expanded its design team for the AI transition.
• He would not pay 10x for AI coding tools because competitive pressure keeps switching costs low; engineers use Cursor, Copilot, and Revo Dev interchangeably.
• The gap between AI demo magic and real enterprise value is large due to data cleanliness, security, workflow change, and organizational readiness.
• Tobi Lütke’s line resonated with him: the founder’s job is to fight the entropy of ambition — complacency is the core long-term threat.

2025-10-13 · Watch on YouTube