ICP Intelligence February 2026: VP Engineering

What are the evolving operational and risk priorities for VP Engineering leaders? VP Engineering leaders are experiencing significant shifts, with operations and risk emerging as increasingly critical areas. Over the past six months, the Operations factor has seen a substantial +1.50 increase, indicating a heightened focus on execution and efficiency. Concurrently, the Risk factor has risen by +1.00, suggesting a growing concern for potential vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies. Their current top priorities, such as 'increasing value delivered to the customer' and 'building products developers want and will use,' are now viewed through the lens of pressing pain points like 'AI gross margins are lower than traditional SaaS' and 'cost to serve each customer is not zero in AI.' This confluence points to a segment grappling with the practical and financial implications of their technology advancements, particularly in AI, and suggests a strategic re-evaluation of how engineering drives customer value while managing rising operational complexities and financial risks.

AI-generated summary · February 11, 2026