AI ENGINEERING REPORT 2026
acceleration whiplash
The definitive data on AI's engineering impact. What's working, what's breaking, and what leaders need to do next.
- Engineering throughput is up
- Bugs, incidents, and rework are rising faster
- Two years of data from 22,000 developers across 4,000 teams
Companies spend 35–50% of their revenue on engineering
CFOs want to know what engineering is doing, how it ties to strategy, and whether resources are allocated correctly. Faros brings together financial, HR, and productivity data to answer these questions.
Improve strategic planning
Shape annual budgets and global sourcing strategies based on historical performance, productivity, and outcomes.
Elevate periodic reviews
Track initiative progress and spot high-cost, low-return investments. Benchmark composition and productivity to maximize utilization.
Perform rapid ad hoc analysis
To pivot or double down? Use the integrated data sources to answer any question about efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes.
“Today, I articulate our engineering vision and track North Star metrics seamlessly. Faros has become essential in communicating our value clearly and securing buy-in at the executive level.”
Understand how to maximize the ROI of engineering
Engineering is one of the most expensive corporate functions. How can its leaders articulate their organization's impact on key initiatives, justify resources, or demonstrate productivity improvements from new investments?
Faros benchmarks efficiency and generates insights into your engineering teams' effectiveness and productivity. Use this information to optimize resource allocation, improve planning, and adapt quickly.
Discover the Engineering Productivity Handbook
How to build a high-impact program that drives real results.
What to measure and why it matters.
And the 5 critical practices that turn data into impact.
Insights to guide your investment strategy
Assess the financial impact of engineering initiatives
Visualize engineering ROI to optimize resource allocation.
- Compare initiative costs against revenue contributions.
- Quickly identify areas of concern, with high cost but low ROI.
- Ensure resources are aligned to key initiatives and strategic plans.
Benchmark engineering efficiency
Optimize team structure to enhance efficiency and performance.
- Ensure management and role ratios are in line with industry standards.
- Identify outliers in team composition.
- Highlight potential hidden unemployment (aka ghost engineers).
- Rebalance capacity to improve efficiency and performance.
Maximize the value from global sourcing strategies
Identify top-performing sites, vendors, and contractors.
- Compare developer productivity across geographic locations and contract types.
- Contrast the value delivered by vendors and subcontractors.
- Monitor developer productivity over time and identify emerging constraints.
Optimize your Ai investments
Context changes everything.
See the platform in action.
Context for the work you do every day
Engineering context powers the use cases that help your organization transform as fast as AI evolves.