Employees who don't vibe code are 'probably underperforming,' fintech startup product chief says

• Ramp's product chief says employees who aren't vibe coding are falling behind.
• "If you're not using Claude code this year, no matter what your role is, you're probably underperforming," Geoff Charles said.
• Staff who "sometimes use ChatGPT" are at level zero, and won't be at the company for long, he said.

The product chief of a $32 billion fintech startup has called out employees who aren't using AI-assisted coding tools.

Geoff Charles, chief product officer of Ramp, an AI fintech startup that helps companies pay their bills, said in a Sunday episode of "Behind the Craft" podcast that employees are expected to be AI-native.

"If you're not using Claude code this year, no matter what your role is, you're probably underperforming compared to others on the company," he added.

Charles said that the company frames AI proficiency across multiple levels. At the bottom level — level zero — are people who "sometimes use ChatGPT." At the top, level three, are people who are "systems builders."

Employees who vibe code and can proficiently build apps that automate parts of their job belong to level two, while staff who have built custom GPTs and have some experience with Claude Code fall under level one.

"Our job is to get everyone in the organization up the ladder," Charles said.

"The people who are still in L0, they will most likely not be at the company," he added, referring to level zero.

"If you're not a self-starter and you don't have that growth mindset, it's going to be very, very hard to train," he said.

Charles said 50% of the company's code is built by AI, and it would probably be 80% by March. He added that the role of product managers will evolve in the AI-native era, with some becoming builders and others focusing on business strategy.

The fintech startup announced in November that it raised $300 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $32 billion. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with investors including Founders Fund, Coatue, GIC, Thrive Capital, and Khosla Ventures, among others.

Companies going all in on AI

Charles' comments come as tech companies increasingly reshape their workforces around AI.

Block last month cut nearly half of its workforce, saying advancements in AI were behind the layoffs.

Last week, Atlassian laid off about 1,600 roles, roughly 10% of its global staff, as the Australian-American proprietary software company reorganizes to prioritize AI development and enterprise growth.

"It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does," CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes wrote in a message to employees.

Ramp is not the only company paying closer attention to how employees use AI at work.

In February, managers at Google told some staff in non-technical roles that they are expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows, four employees familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

In some cases, non-technical employees were told their use of AI could factor into their performance reviews later this year, two of the employees said.

Daniel Yanisse, the CEO of background-check startup Checkr, said the company has pushed employees across departments to adopt AI tools, not just engineers.

"We gave every employee a monthly stipend to try AI tools, and we did AI days and demos. After one year, 95% of the employees use prompting daily," Yanisse said last month.