CEOInterviews.AI
Start App
Try: AI strategy tariffs earnings guidance layoffs interest rates growth

David Hansson

Co-owner & CTO, 37signals

Search every verified David Hansson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. David Hansson, co-owner and CTO of 37signals, appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in August 2026, where he discussed topics including the future of programming, AI, agentic engineering, and Linux. During the conversation, Hansson expressed strong optimism about recent advances in AI, stating that he feels "100% pure, unadulterated joy and optimism" rather than existential concern, and described the pace of progress as comparable to "decades of progress happen in the last nine months." He also described his current workflow, which involves using multiple frontier AI models—such as Opus, Fable, Codex, and Grok—to generate and review code, noting that having one model check another's work has become his standard operating procedure. He added that GitHub Copilot has improved and now flags legitimate issues, though he recalled that its earlier versions were unreliable. Hansson also touched on broader cultural and philosophical themes, including a preference for 1980s aesthetics and a reflection on risk-taking, saying that "the Overton window does not open itself" and that change comes through individuals risking reputation and criticism. In a separate quote attributed to the same appearance, he commented on NVIDIA's Vera CPU, describing it as opening a new $200 billion total addressable market for the company and noting that major hyperscalers are partnering to deploy it, with ramp-up beginning in the second half of the following year.

Recent appearances

  • DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501

    August 26, 2026 · 📺 Lex Fridman

    DHH is the creator of Ruby on Rails, Omarchy Linux, CTO of 37signals, and a racecar driver. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep501-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/dhh-2-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • ONCE with David Heinemeier Hansson & Kevin McConnell

    April 17, 2026 · 📺 37signals

    In this episode of RECORDABLES, we dive into the thinking behind the ONCE open source app server and what it takes to turn self-hosted software into something anyone can run. David Heinemeier Hansson and Kevin McConnell walk through the shift from single-app installs to a console-like system that can run multiple applications on one machine, and the philosophy that guided that evolution. Along the way, they explore the tradeoffs between simplicity and flexibility, the role of Docker and Kamal in making deployments seamless, and why ease of use matters more than raw capability. This conversati…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • $100M+ Advice That'll Piss Off Every Business Guru (ft. DHH)

    March 17, 2026 · 📺 My First Million

    Get Sam's guide to run your life like a $100M biz: https://clickhubspot.com/mfp Episode 806: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to David Heinemeier Hansson ( https://x.com/dhh ) about AI, being wrong in public, and taking on Apple. — Show Notes: (0:00) How to stand out (7:48) not giving a damn (9:57) liquid vs crystalized intelligence (12:03) constraints breed creativity (18:18) being publicly wrong (24:27) taste vs data (33:25) Being in awe of Shopify (41:05) how David uses AI (47:49) What won't work today (51:23) who David admires (1:00:13…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • DHH: How to Make F*ck You Money, Writing, US vs EU, Building Basecamp, 37signals & Ruby on Rails

    October 02, 2025 · 📺 Finn Thormeier

    David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) is the co-founder & CTO of 37signals (Basecamp, HEY) and the creator of Ruby on Rails. In this episode, DHH breaks down how he built real wealth without playing the Silicon Valley game, why “fuck you money” is misunderstood, and what it really takes to stay independent for 20+ years. We talk about effort, writing, grit, parenting, and how the most meaningful success doesn’t always look like a unicorn. Topics we cover in this episode: How Basecamp started as a side project and became a 20-year business What most people get wrong about building “fuck you money”…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474

    July 12, 2025 · 📺 Lex Fridman

    David Heinemeier Hansson (aka DHH) is a legendary programmer, creator of Ruby on Rails, co-owner & CTO of 37signals that created Basecamp, HEY, & ONCE, and is a NYT-best-selling author (with Jason Fried) of 4 books: REWORK, REMOTE, Getting Real, and It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy At Work. He is also a race car driver, including a class-winning performance at the 24 hour Le Mans race. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep474-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridm…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Rapid Fire Questions with Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson – REWORK

    May 14, 2025 · 📺 37signals

    In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, host Kimberly Rhodes puts 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in the hot seat with a round of rapid-fire questions — from favorite apps and founder skills to customer requests and what's coming next. Key Takeaways 00:11 – Favorite software that Jason and David use (that they haven't built) 03:42 – Underrated skills every founder should develop 06:26 – Times they’ve completely changed their minds on a decision 14:05 – Customer feature requests that likely won’t ever happen 15:36 – A new 37signals product is on the way Links an…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Ask the Founders: Live Q&A with Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

    May 09, 2024 · 📺 37signals

    Hey everyone welcome to this live stream Q&A with Jason freed and David hinam Hansen co-founders of 37 signals my name is ...

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • David Heinemeier Hansson - Denmark, Ruby on Rails, 37Signals, & LeMans

    July 07, 2023 · 📺 Geet Khosla

    David is the co-founder of 37Signals, the creator of Ruby on Rails, and besides his endeavors in the world of technology, business and publishing, he is driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship and has raced at the legendary 24 Hours of LeMans numerous times. Learn more here - https://dhh.dk

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • - Startups - David H. Hansson, Partner at 37signals -TWiST #E337

    March 27, 2013 · 📺 This Week in Startups

    Never miss an episode! Subscribe in iTunes: Audio (http://bit.ly/TwiStA) || Video (http://bit.ly/TwiStV) Visit http://www.sourcebits.com to begin your web app development journey. Take a meeting with Sourcebits and you'll also get a 15-minute meeting with Jason Calacanis! Email [email protected] for more info. ShareFile by Citrix: Secure file transfer, built for business. Visit http://ShareFile.com, click the microphone and enter the code TWIST to get a FULL 30 day FREE trial. ========================== Back again almost 300 episodes later, Jason sits down with David Hansson (DHH)…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • This Week in Startups - David Heinemeier Hansson, partner at 37signals and creator of Ruby on Rails

    December 30, 2010 · 📺 This Week in Startups

    This week we have David Heinemeier Hansson, Partner at 37signals. For more information, show notes, and an upcoming schedule, go to www.thisweekin.com.

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Leancamp - Christian Heilmann and David Heinemeier Hansson on Rework

    May 12, 2010 · 📺 Yahoo Developer Network

    Christian Heilmann interviewing David Heinemeier Hansson of 37 Signals about their latest book Rework, Agile Development, Ruby on Rails and how the lessons learnt by 37 Signals can be applied to other companies.

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • RailsConf Europe 08: David Heinemeier Hansson (37signals)

    December 10, 2008 · 📺 O'Reilly

    Living with Legacy Software, David Heinemeier Hansson (37signals)

    Watch on YouTube ↗

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →