Skip to main content
New Year’s Sale — Build a balanced news diet with 40% off Vantage
Published loading...Updated

Tailwind Creator Says AI Played a Role in Downsizing

CEO Adam Wathan attributes an 80% revenue drop to AI reducing documentation traffic by 40%, forcing layoffs of 75% of Tailwind's engineering team.

  • On Monday, Tailwind cut three of its four engineers after CEO Adam Wathan wrote `75% of the people on our engineering team lost their jobs here yesterday because of the brutal impact AI has had on our business`.
  • Revenue plunged by 80%, Wathan said, as traffic to Tailwind's online documentation fell 40%, crushing its ability to convert free users to paid customers.
  • Facing steep revenue losses, leaders slashed engineering headcount after forecasting showed Tailwind would miss payroll in six months; the remaining team is three owners, one engineer, and one part-time employee.
  • Adam Wathan said 90% of people understood and didn't `pile on`, but critics who blamed the CEO remained, and he stated `I feel like a failure for having to do it.`
  • Competition from free and AI-generated equivalents pressured Tailwind's business model as AI summarization and extraction routed developers and online users away from its documentation, causing a 40% traffic drop.
Insights by Ground AI

12 Articles

Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 34% of the sources lean Left, 33% of the sources are Center, 33% of the sources lean Right
34% Left

Factuality Info Icon

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

Info Icon

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

GIGAZINE broke the news in on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
Too Big Arrow Icon
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics

News
Feed Dots Icon
For You
Search Icon
Search
Blindspot LogoBlindspotLocal