“AI Will Break the Internet” — Cloudflare CEO’s Big Prediction

What if your company’s mission turned out to be bigger than you imagined?

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I speak with Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, now a $70 billion company defending 20% of all internet traffic. We trace how Cloudflare’s mission wasn’t declared at the start, but discovered through a series of principled decisions, from protecting journalists and activists to making encryption free for everyone.

We also explore today’s urgent challenges: how AI’s shift from search engines to answer engines threatens the web’s business model, why creators must be compensated, and what a sustainable, human-centered internet could look like.

This is a conversation about technology, power, and what it means to build with principle.

—

Where to find Mathew Prince: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprince/

• X: https://x.com/eastdakota

—

Where to find Eric:

• Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericries.carrd.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

• Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

• YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

—

In This Episode We Cover:

(00:00) Intro

(02:44) Cloudflare’s history of blogging 

(08:06) How Cloudflare got involved in safeguarding democracy 

(14:30) How Matthew learned Cloudflare would make enemies

(16:42) Why Cloudflare stopped charging for encryption 

(18:36) How a series of principled decisions led to Cloudflare’s mission

(26:24) Why a clear mission makes recruiting and building a company easier

(32:00) Cloudflare’s culture of psychological safety around failure 

(34:18) Lessons from Cloudflare’s mission and scrappy early team

(44:27) Why scale and valuation didn’t shake Cloudflare’s mission

(50:12) How the shift from search to answers is reshaping the internet

(1:01:00) Why we need a new business model to compensate content makers 

(1:03:48) Matthew’s vision for a sustainable future of creators and AI

(1:06:26) How supporting creators sustains both the internet and Cloudflare’s mission

(1:09:57) Lessons from Spotify on supporting creators

(1:12:26) How Cloudflare handles its civic responsibility with transparency

—

You can find episode references at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

—

Production and marketing by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pen Name⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.