What AI Native Really Means for Engineering Teams

What actually makes a company AI native? Is it using AI across every department, building more agents, or changing how the organization works? Eswar Vandenapu, Cofounder and CTO of NovaWorks AI, shares what his team is learning as it moves from basic AI adoption toward a shared context model that shapes how decisions are made. The discussion explores why giving everyone access to AI tools is only the beginning. Eswar explains how NovaWorks is using shared context to improve collaboration, why an agent that understands its environment can be more useful than dozens of specialized agents, and how the boundaries between product and engineering are changing. We also discuss the skills engineering teams need as AI handles more coding work, including systems thinking, domain expertise, and the ability to ask better questions. What You'll Learn Why AI adoption alone does not make a company AI native. How shared context changes collaboration and decision making. Why agent quality matters more than the number of agents. How AI is changing engineering roles, hiring, and technical skills. Episode Highlights 00:40 How NovaWorks is rethinking HR and workforce management 03:37 The journey from AI awareness to shared organizational context 07:54 Why building more agents is not necessarily better 11:07 How AI is changing the relationship between product and engineering 14:41 Why systems thinking and domain knowledge matter more in engineering 18:57 Learning to question AI rather than simply give it instructions One Line That Stuck "Quantity of the agents doesn't matter." Follow The Tech Trek for more conversations about engineering, AI, product development, and building technology companies.