Cisco has tasked a 27-year-old engineer with rewriting 98% of the company's legacy code within 24 months using AI, while president and chief product officer Jeetu Patel says he hopes to find more young hires in the Krishnamurthy mould, both inside the company and externally.
The move comes as AI tools displace entry-level jobs, and Patel is taking a different approach. The engineer, Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, joined Cisco through its acquisition of EzDubs, a translation startup he helped build in 2023. According to a Fortune report, Patel found him "buried away in the organization doing something unstrategic." Patel spoke to him in Cisco's San Francisco office, where Krishnamurthy said he could rewrite the code with a team of just two people, and that "even the most AI-forward people on [Patel's] own team weren't thinking that way."
Patel granted Krishnamurthy four weeks for a proof of concept. "I've given him unlimited tokens because he's going to refactor code," Patel said, telling him "you can go nuts."
Patel said he is looking for more hires like Krishnamurthy, both inside Cisco and externally, people who will "challenge the system and the status quo" and act as "an energizer bunny that just goes and kind of revs everyone up." He acknowledged the approach would create friction by putting Gen Z employees among decades-old employees, but said "Tension is good," explaining that he wants friction on ideas, not between people and personalities.
Patel said he believes a combination of experienced operators, external hires and "entrepreneurial founders, CEOs and engineers who are AI-native" will bring results: "Either of these groups by themselves aren't nearly as potent as when all three work together. It's what creates magic."
The report also notes the risks of AI coding, citing rogue AI agents that have taken unsolicited actions such as deleting entire company databases, and the strain of demand that forced GitHub to deploy 4 million extra CPU cores and 160 petabytes of storage.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Cisco's bet is a test of whether a small, AI-assisted team can modernize decades of enterprise code that has resisted traditional refactoring.
- It signals a shift in how large companies may treat early-career hires: as sources of AI-native ideas rather than entry-level cost, at a time when AI is displacing junior roles.
- The experiment's outcome could shape how other legacy tech firms approach AI-driven code rewrites.
Background
Cisco is a networking giant whose products carry decades of accumulated code. Legacy codebases are notoriously hard to rewrite because they power critical infrastructure and contain undocumented dependencies. The company has been repositioning around software and AI, and this initiative fits that push.
Key Perspectives
- Jeetu Patel, Cisco president and chief product officer: says giving young AI-native hires room to work is how fresh ideas get injected, that tension on ideas is good, and that results come from combining experienced operators, external hires and AI-native entrepreneurs.
- Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, engineer: told Patel he could rewrite the legacy code with a team of just two people, and that even the most AI-forward people on Patel's team were not thinking that way.
What to Watch
- Whether Krishnamurthy meets the four-week proof-of-concept milestone.
- Whether the two-person team can demonstrate the productivity Patel is betting on over the 24-month rewrite.
- Whether other large companies adopt similar AI-native early-career programs and how veteran employees respond to the friction.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedCisco tasked an engineer with rewriting 98% of its legacy code within 24 months.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “he's now been tasked with rewriting 98% of Cisco's legacy code within 24 months”
- SupportedThe engineer is 27 years old.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “a 27-year-old ex-startup founder”
- SupportedPatel told the engineer he had unlimited tokens and could “go nuts.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““I've given him unlimited tokens because he's going to refactor code,” according to Patel, telling him “you can go nuts.””
- SupportedPatel hopes to find more young hires inside Cisco and externally, including people who will challenge the status quo and energize others.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Patel hopes that there are more young hires in the Krishnamurthy mould that he can find, both in the company and externally to hire. He's looking for hires to “challenge the system and the status quo,” to be “an energizer bunny that just goes and kind of revs everyone up.””
- SupportedThe story says AI tools are displacing entry-level jobs.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “In a world where youth unemployment is growing as AI replaces more and more entry-level jobs”
- SupportedKrishnamurthy joined Cisco after its acquisition of EzDubs, a translation startup he helped build in 2023.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The employee, Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, joined Cisco after it acquired EzDubs, a translation startup that Krishnamurthy helped build in 2023.”
- SupportedPatel described Krishnamurthy as “buried away in the organization doing something unstrategic.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Patel found that “Paddy” was left “buried away in the organization doing something unstrategic.””
- SupportedIn Cisco’s San Francisco office, Krishnamurthy said he could rewrite the legacy code with a team of two and that Patel’s AI-forward team had not been thinking that way.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Patel spoke to Krishnamurthy in Cisco's office in San Francisco, where Krishnamurthy told him that he could rewrite Cisco's legacy code in a team of just two people, and that “even the most AI-forward people on [Patel's] own team weren't thinking that way.””
- SupportedPatel gave Krishnamurthy four weeks for a proof of concept.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “with four weeks as a proof of concept.”
- SupportedPatel said the approach would create friction between Gen Z and decades-old employees, but that tension over ideas—not people and personalities—is good.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “He acknowledges that this will create friction, putting Gen Z employees among decades-old employees. “Tension is good.... I actually try to create tension in the teams because you want to have enough friction on the ideas. You don't want to have friction with the people and personalities.””
- Partly supportedPatel said experienced operators, external hires and AI-native founders, CEOs and engineers are more potent working together; he called that what creates “magic.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Patel believes that a combination of experienced, scale operators at Cisco, alongside external hires and “entrepreneurial founders, CEOs and engineers who are AI-native” will bring results. “Either of these groups by themselves aren't nearly as potent as when all three work together. It's what creates magic.””
- SupportedThe report cites rogue AI agents deleting entire company databases and says demand forced GitHub to deploy 4 million extra CPU cores and 160 petabytes of storage.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “GitHub forced to deploy 4 million extra CPU cores and 160 petabytes of storage to cope. However, the practice is not without its pitfalls, with rogue AI agents notorious for taking unsolicited actions including deleting entire company databases”
