This Gen Xer sold his tech company to AT&T for billions-he warns if you're still pushing RTO, you're not serious about AI | Fortune

"But Brian O'Kelley, the tech founder who sold AppNexus to AT&T for $1.6 billion in 2018, has a message for Jamie Dimon, Andy Jassy, and any CEO demanding a return to the office: You're not serious about AI. The 48-year-old serial entrepreneur has worked in tech for the past two decades. He's currently building his third startup, Scope3, a supply-chain emissions data company. And O'Kelley argues that return-to-office mandates mark the line between companies that are truly preparing for an AI-first future-and those stuck in the past."

""The best companies are going to actually dump their offices to learn to work with non-bodied employees," O'Kelley exclusively told Fortune. "Anybody who has a back-to-office culture is actually hurting themselves." The remote-first AI advantage While many CEOs claim they're calling workers back to their desks to increase productivity, O'Kelley argued that they'll never be as productive as remote-first firms, like his, that have the pick of top global talent and operate around the clock."

""My company works every hour of the day because I have folks in Australia, and folks in San Francisco," he explained. Being spread across time zones doesn't just make them more available to customers-it forces teams to be efficient and lean on the latest tech in ways traditional office-based companies simply don't need. "That's a world where everything is written down, because you have to transfer knowledge across these time zones, and we film videos for each other," he said, adding that it'll make it easier to integrate with AI eventually too."

Majority of Fortune 100 companies reinstated fully in-office policies after the pandemic. Return-to-office mandates are presented as a dividing line between companies preparing for an AI-first future and those remaining tied to legacy workplace models. Remote-first firms leverage global talent and operate round-the-clock, increasing availability and productivity. Distributed teams force asynchronous workflows that require written documentation and recorded videos, enabling clearer knowledge transfer and smoother AI integration. Companies prioritizing physical presence over measurable productivity risk losing advantages in AI adoption and efficiency compared with remote-first, asynchronous organizations.

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