In this environment, is the value of GitLab to a potential acquirer going up or down?

They focus on injecting AI at different points in the lifecycle, which is smart because they're not competing solely on code creation but on speeding up the entire process. I like the message, but it hasn't boosted the numbers yet. If they nail that, it could increase their acquisition value, especially for a platform like Google. It would be a competitive move versus Microsoft owning GitHub. I've always thought Google was a logical acquirer, maybe even Amazon. But I think Amazon would only buy them if they really nailed AI. Otherwise, I think it's still strategic, and there's a chance someone might decide to buy them, but I don't think their acquisition value has increased much. It's probably decreased a little.

GitLab's new customer acquisition has been low, and Bill identified that as a problem. Do you have a theory on why these new customers have been low? Do you think GitHub is just capturing more of the smaller users? Is that the reason, or is it something else?

That's my main theory. GitLab made a couple of aggressive pricing moves. One of them was when I was there; we removed the bronze tier, which was around $4, and then we went to $0, $19.99, and they later increased it to $29. So, the first paid tier is now $29. Last I checked, GitHub's entry-level is about $8. I should look at it again. But anyway, they had a far cheaper option for entry-level paid tiers. If you're a start-up and you're looking at $30 a month versus $8 a month per seat, is GitLab four times more interesting? Probably not for a start-up, especially considering GitHub's overall brand and the buzz around Copilot.