No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups No Priors Live: Building Durable Software in the AI Age with MongoDB President & CEO CJ Desai
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Jan 22, 2026 
CJ Desai, President and CEO of MongoDB, shares insights from his extensive experience in software development. He discusses why platforms, not just products, create long-term value and how AI could reshape enterprise software. CJ explains the cautious pace of AI adoption by Fortune 500 companies and why customer relationships are crucial. He also addresses the overblown fears surrounding SaaS and the enduring importance of platforms amid technological transitions. Expect a deep dive into the future of software in the age of AI!
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Platforms Outlast Products
- Platforms are far stickier than products because they create multi-product usage and deep integrations with existing systems.
- CJ Desai argues only platforms scale to the largest pure‑software revenues due to that stickiness.
Make The Platform Your Strategy
- Position your company as a platform, not a one-off product, to increase customer lock‑in and expand TAM within large enterprises.
- Build multiple complementary products so customers adopt more of your stack over time.
Bank CTO’s App Count Won CJ Over
- A bank CTO told CJ they had 300 mission‑critical apps on MongoDB, and 9,000 total apps in the organization.
- That scale convinced CJ the database was deeply embedded and hard to displace.