Startups Can Do More Right Now With AI: 5 Insights From Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott
Microsoft, Monday, December 29th, 2025
This is an unusually promising moment for early-stage builders. That's what Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott told a group of entrepreneurs and technologists last week at South Park Commons in San Francisco. Tools such as coding agents and large-context models are more capable, he said, and the cost of experimentation is lower than ever. Entire categories are still wide open for people who are willing to test ideas quickly.
In a fireside chat with South Park Commons' Aditya Agarwal, he said there's currently a rare window for founders who can ignore the noise, follow the real signals and stay grounded through feedback.
Scott, whose career has spanned academia, startups and large-scale engineering leadership, urged the audience of founders to embrace the opportunity embedded within the dynamic AI landscape.
'I know building things is hard. It's a grind. Just don't lose sight of how special this moment is,' he said. 'I think everybody in this room has the potential to make a massive impact on the world, by just being fearless about how you put this technology at work for other people.'