Cisco gives 27-year-old engineer unlimited AI tokens to rewrite 98% of the company's legacy code in 24 months — president plucks former startup founder, telling him to 'go nuts'
Cisco president Jeetu Patel has assigned 27-year-old engineer Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy to rewrite 98% of the company's legacy code within 24 months.
Patel recruited Krishnamurthy, who previously helped build the translation startup EzDubs, to lead a major technical overhaul.
The engineer was initially placed in a role five levels below his potential, but Patel moved him to a new position to tackle the project.
AI-powered code overhaul
Krishnamurthy will use unlimited AI tokens to refactor the vast majority of Cisco's outdated codebase.
The goal is to complete the transformation within a 24-month timeframe.
Strategic reassignment
Patel identified Krishnamurthy as a key strategic asset who was being underutilized in his previous role.
The project represents a significant shift in how Cisco is approaching its technical debt.
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