Tech CEOs are using AI to replace themselves

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Tech company CEOs aren’t just making their companies AI-first: this week, they’re using AI avatars to replace themselves in earnings calls. Buy now, pay later company Klarna featured the AI version of CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski in an 83-second about its Q1 2025 results, as reported by TechCrunch. The video’s description says that his “AI avatar” is presenting the results, and the AI avatar kicks off the video by saying that “it’s me, or rather, my AI avatar.” Klarna has already been vocal about how it uses AI in its business, with Siemiatkowski telling CNBC this month that the company shrunk its workforce in part as a result of its AI investments. This also isn’t even the first time the company has used an AI version of Siemiatkowski to share earnings. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan also deployed an AI version of himself for the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call ... Read full article.