Cu(m²)ulative is about how software gets built, how engineering organizations work, and how AI is changing both.
I’m Karim Fanous, a startup engineering executive and Co-founder at crimsonray.ai. I write about software development, AI agents and security, engineering leadership, and the economics of building software. My experience includes engineering leadership at StrongDM, Dremio, Qumulo & Kheiron AI Medical. These essays draw on the work of building teams, shipping products, and making decisions under the constraints of a startup.
The questions connect. When agents produce code faster than people can review it, what does it take to ship software we can trust? When software becomes cheaper to build, what remains valuable? And when information becomes easier to assemble, how do we get better at exercising judgment?
I write for engineering leaders, founders, and software practitioners working through those questions. The archive combines practical guidance with arguments about where the work is heading.
AI and software development
How AI changes coding, validation, delivery, and software economics.
Agentic AI and security
Giving autonomous software useful authority while keeping its actions observable and governed.
Engineering leadership and startup operations
Building teams, choosing metrics, and understanding the business.
The logo for this publication is by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash.
Karim
