The a16z Show From Code Search to AI Agents: Inside Sourcegraph's Transformation with CTO Beyang Liu
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Jan 20, 2026 
Beyang Liu, Co-founder and CTO of Sourcegraph and an expert in developer tools, shares insights on his work with coding agents. He reveals that 90% of his code now comes from agents, leading to discussions about the geopolitical implications of AI, especially regarding Chinese models dominating open-source development. Liu contrasts the productivity of large codebases with simpler projects and explores the future direction of developer tools, emphasizing the need for clear regulations to protect innovation in the face of increasing competition.
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US Lead But Growing Dependency Risk
- The U.S. led the AI revolution but app builders now often rely on Chinese open-weight models because they currently perform best for many tasks.
- Beyang Liu warns this dependency risks handing the AI infrastructure layer to China if U.S. open models don't catch up.
Sourcegraph Born From Code Search Needs
- Beyang founded Sourcegraph to help humans understand massive codebases after working at Palantir.
- His ML background at Stanford later informed Sourcegraph's move into LLM-enhanced code search and agents.
Dad Builds iPad Games With AMP
- Beyang taught his dad, who never coded before, to use AMP to build simple iPad games for his child.
- This illustrated how agentic coding tools expand access beyond professional developers.