How Srini Raghavan helped $3.4B SaaS Giant Freshworks Embrace the AI PDLC

Product development is shifting from a linear, siloed process to an integrated model driven by "product builders" who leverage AI to handle research, design, and engineering tasks simultaneously. Srini Raghavan, CPO of Freshworks, demonstrates how this transformation collapses traditional six-month release cycles into two-week sprints. By grounding AI agents in proprietary data lakes and using tools like Cursor and Figma Make, teams automate 80% of PRD drafting and prototyping while maintaining strict governance. This evolution replaces manual operational work with high-level judgment, allowing a single individual to manage end-to-end delivery. Furthermore, the implementation of Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI agents to interact directly with enterprise systems, facilitating proactive ticket resolution and personalized employee support, which significantly increases both developer velocity and overall organizational satisfaction.