Github for X companies
A few things on my mind lately:
The future of AI assistance (and why AI hardware is important). Briefly sketched out thoughts here: https://x.com/pzakin/status/1744869646573212131?s=20 and https://x.com/pzakin/status/1737880207854637101?s=20.
How Github could use code-generation to de-fragment the software development process. Touched on it here: https://x.com/pzakin/status/1735015582813278344?s=20
Both of these hopefully (maybe?) will turn into blog posts at some point. But in the process of drafting the post about Github and code generation, I remembered I’d written an internal memo last year about Github for X companies.
Figured I’d share it so maybe I can reference it later.
Github and its analogs (google doc)
The short version:
Many companies aspirationally describe themselves as Github for X. These companies want to claim that they’re like Github but none of them really are.
Github is special because it does two key things. Github for X companies almost always do only one of these.
“Hub” for open source projects. Being the hub for open source artifacts (e.g. HuggingFace with datasets, models; GitHub with codebases) fosters network effects. For Github, the growth of users and projects reinforced each other. Users creating projects helped activate new users (or reactivate existing ones), who in turn went on to create other projects….
Version control system. Owning the primary workflow for collaborative domains earns you privileged status when it comes to expanding into product adjacencies. In software development, that primary workflow has to do with helping developers safely integrate new code changes. This workflow sits upstream and adjacent to other value-add offerings like CI/CD.
It’s possible to build a very successful company doing only one of these things. #1 leads to ubiquity and brand strength (e.g. HuggingFace). #2 gives you the power to expand into adjacent offerings (e.g. Gitlab’s evolution from version control to the full bundle of DevSecOps is almost shamefully expansive). This unique combination of factors has made Github ubiquitous and capable of broad product expansion across the development lifecycle.