2026-01-11 08:24:04

Last week, Tailwind Labs underwent a major round of layoffs, with 75% of the engineering team cut. The reasons behind this decision are worth noting—CEO Adam Wathan openly admitted on GitHub that AI has caused a significant impact on their business.

The data is clear: although Tailwind's popularity has never been higher, their documentation traffic has dropped nearly 40% since early 2023. Many people are saying "AI is killing open source businesses," but this conclusion might be too absolute.

From a different perspective, AI is actually performing a "stress test" on Tailwind's business model. It's not the future of open source that is failing, but certain specific business models. This is different from claiming that AI is killing the entire open source ecosystem.

The problem for Tailwind is that when AI can quickly generate documentation to answer user questions, users may no longer need to log in to the official website. This impact is real, but it reflects the need for business strategy adjustments to adapt to new stages, rather than the death of open source software itself. Many open source projects are exploring new monetization paths—such as providing enterprise-level support, differentiated services, and community ecosystem development. The key is to find the value points that users are truly willing to pay for in the AI era.

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BasementAlchemist

· 01-14 07:43

Layoffs of 75%... This is the reality. When AI arrives, document traffic is directly cut in half. What does that mean? It means the business model needs to be upgraded.

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DeFiAlchemist

· 01-14 04:39

*adjusts alchemical instruments* so tailwind's transmutation of value got disrupted... the 40% doc traffic decline is basically their yield curve collapsing when ai became the cheaper liquidity provider. fascinating case study in protocol fragility tbh

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DegenMcsleepless

· 01-13 02:45

A 75% layoffs is a bit extreme... But on the other hand, AI directly surpassing document access volume is indeed impressive.

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CompoundPersonality

· 01-11 08:54

75% of the engineering team was cut, this is the real "stress test"...

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HashRateHermit

· 01-11 08:53

Honestly, firing 75% of the engineering team is a bit harsh, but on the other hand, the pressure test for AI really hits home. A 40% drop in document traffic is no joke—what does that mean? It means the business model needs to change, not that open source is dead.

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MysteriousZhang

· 01-11 08:45

75% layoffs, now we're really being swept by AI. But it's still early to say open source is dead; the real issue is figuring out how to make money.

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DAOTruant

· 01-11 08:39

A 75% layoffs sound terrible, but saying AI is killing open source is an exaggeration. Ultimately, it's still a matter of business models not keeping up.

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PessimisticLayer

· 01-11 08:38

75% direct layoffs? This guy is really panicking, he's so timid as soon as AI arrives Wait, document access drops 40% but popularity is the highest? This data is a bit outrageous... feels like something is quietly changing Business model stress testing sounds nice, but in reality, it just means being replaced by AI. Open source hasn't died, it's just the money-losing models that need to die

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FloorSweeper

· 01-11 08:30

A 75% layoffs figure is really harsh, but on the other hand, AI has indeed changed the game. A 40% drop in document traffic is no small matter.

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