Jack Dorsey’s Block has launched Builderbot, a new AI-native software tool built to support engineering work across the company.
Summary
- Builderbot handles 15% of Block’s production code changes and merges 1,500 pull requests weekly now.
- Block says Builderbot lets engineers ship cross-service fixes without knowing each codebase first at scale.
- The rollout links Dorsey’s AI restructuring to real engineering output, not only cost cuts alone.
In a Block announcement, the company said the tool now handles about 15% of all production code changes.
Builderbot runs more than 200,000 operations per day and merges about 1,500 pull requests each week, according to Block. Brad Axen, Block’s head of AI capabilities, said the tool is “the missing layer between AI coding tools and how engineering actually works at scale.”
AI tool works across Block’s codebase
Block said Builderbot is not a standard coding assistant that works in one repository. It acts as an orchestration layer that coordinates several AI agents across the company’s codebase. It can work with services, APIs, internal rules, and system patterns across Block.
The tool works inside Slack. Engineers can tag Builderbot, describe the task, and let the system create a branch, write code, open a pull request, watch continuous integration, and respond to feedback. Block said the tool only works with source code and system configuration. It does not access customer data, payment data, or personal information.
Dorsey’s AI shift gets clearer
The rollout gives more detail on Block’s wider use of AI across its business. The company said 100% of its engineers now use AI regularly in their work. It also said Builderbot lets engineers make changes in parts of the company’s systems they have not worked on before.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Block’s workforce cuts reduced headcount by more than 4,000 jobs as Dorsey said the company was restructuring around AI and smaller teams. At the time, Dorsey said intelligence tools were helping Block work in a new way.
AI coding moves beyond assistants
Builderbot shows how AI coding tools are moving from suggestions to production work. The system does not just generate code snippets. It follows tickets, edits files, opens pull requests, and helps move software toward release while humans review direction and judgment.
Block said some work that once took months can now take days. Axen said engineers on Square used Builderbot to ship seller-facing features that had been waiting for months. He said Builderbot handled scaffolding and repeated work, while engineers made product decisions.
Crypto and fintech firms test AI agents
Block is not alone in pushing AI deeper into financial technology. According to an earlier crypto.news report, Coinbase’s AI advisor lets users interact with portfolio tools through natural language commands. That report also noted that AI agents can connect to Coinbase and follow user-approved trading rules.
crypto.news previously reported that AI expansion has become part of the strategy for several crypto-linked companies. The Builderbot rollout adds a different example. It shows AI being used inside engineering teams, not only in user-facing products.
The key question is how companies keep quality, review standards, and security in place as AI agents touch more code. Block said humans still guide the process and focus on decisions that shape the product. Builderbot handles the lower-level work that slows development.
