3 Billion Developers

Until Q4 last year, the realistic TAM for a web centric developer tool like Netlify was about 17 million professional JavaScript developers, and the companies they work for.

Today, AI-based code agents have broken down the biggest barrier to building software on the web. Anyone among the ~3 billion people who are currently online and proficient enough to use software like spreadsheets can now also build software for the web.

Tools like bolt.new, vibes.diy, repl.it, or lovable.dev make building a simple website trivial. From there, a new skillset is emerging: curious users can gradually build more impactful software with AI as the interface to code, or join development lifecycles that were previously restricted to “coders.”

As this technology matures, software development will become a professional skill far beyond traditional engineering roles. A strong product marketer who can drive coding agents to deliver end-to-end product pages, or a product manager who uses in-context prototypes instead of PRDs, will leverage development as a core boost to their value.

This fundamental shift in who can build for the web is why the move from developer experience (DX) to agent experience (AX) is central for devtool and platform companies that want to shape mainstream software development going forward.

All of these new professionals are entering the field through AI and coding agents. At the same time, existing developers need to reinvent themselves to fully harness the productivity gains. When tools like Claude Code can write the majority of the code, the role of the developer shifts.

For most of these next-generation developers, the tools they will pick will be the tools that work with their agents of choice, the tools with the best agent experience.