AI leverage
How much faster is AI-assisted development? A factor of 2 to 3
In our projects, AI-assisted development is two to three times as fast as traditional development, and correspondingly cheaper. For a new feature in existing software, our effort is around 35% of what a traditional agency plans for, based on experience. Our own products launched after nine and six months; well-known software took 17 to 36 months.
Across Germany for startups and mid-sized companies, with team members in Munich and Dortmund. Updated:
- faster and cheaper than traditional development
- 2–3×
- effort index per feature, traditional agency = 100
- 35
- months to launch for our own products
- 6–9
The AI advantage
Why AI-assisted development is faster and cheaper than the traditional way
We use AI throughout development, from the data model to the tests, and build on components that already run in our own products, so the same work needs only a third to a half of the person-days traditional development plans for. We pass that advantage on in price and schedule. We have already delivered several projects this way.
2–3×
less effort and time than traditional development
Effort for a new feature
For example invoicing or time tracking in existing software. Index, traditional agency = 100.
- In-house team
- 120
- Traditional agency
- 100
- Offshore development
- 75
- CIRO EFFORT
- 35
Months to launch
From the start of development to the first public version: well-known software compared with our own products.
- Notion
- 36
- Linear
- 17
- CIRO.immo
- 9
- CIRO NOISE
- 6
AI does not replace expertise, it multiplies it. Yesterday developers had a shovel and a wheelbarrow, today they operate excavators and cranes. What used to take years now takes weeks. But a crane builds nothing on its own. It takes people who master it.
AI in every step
Research, concept, code, tests and documentation are produced with AI. Our own agents test before a customer notices anything.
Proven building blocks
Sign-in, payments, AI core, security, monitoring: what powers CIRO.immo and CIRO NOISE we reuse instead of rebuilding.
People are accountable
Every line is checked by a person on our team before it goes into your product.
Launch dates rounded from public information: Notion 2013 to Notion 1.0 in March 2016, Linear January 2019 to public launch in 2020. CIRO.immo: development from September 2025, launch June 2026; CIRO NOISE: development from May 2026, live since autumn 2026 (around six months). Effort per feature is based on experience from digital projects and is not a commitment for an individual project; the binding figure for your project is set as a fixed price after the first phase.
What are CIRO.immo and CIRO NOISE?
CIRO.immo and CIRO NOISE are our own products. We built both AI-First. They run in production, and we use their building blocks in client projects:
01
CIRO.immo: software for private landlords
A platform that takes administration off landlords' hands: it matches rent payments, finds receipts, monitors deadlines and produces the service-charge statement. 98% of all bookings run automatically, and three days of statement work become 30 minutes. Development started in September 2025, and it went live in June 2026, nine months later.
02
CIRO NOISE: work platform for teams
Requests, tasks, wiki, customers, quotes, invoices, meetings and working time in one system, with an AI that works directly inside it. We run CIRO entirely on it. It has ten modules behind one login and runs on servers in the EU. Development started in May 2026, and it went live in autumn 2026 at www.ciro-noise.de, around six months later.
03
What this means for your project
Sign-in, permissions, multi-tenancy, payments, AI core, security and monitoring were built for these products and proven in operation. We reuse them in your project, and the time saved goes into the parts that are specific to your software.
Effort for a new feature compared
Example: invoicing or time tracking in existing software. Index, traditional agency = 100:
| Built by | Effort index | Where the difference comes from |
|---|---|---|
| In-house team | 120 | Building knowledge and tooling on the side, competing priorities in day-to-day business |
| Traditional agency | 100 | Reference value: experienced teams, development without AI in the process |
| Offshore development | 75 | Lower day rates, but more coordination and rework |
| CIRO EFFORT | 35 | AI in every step, proven building blocks, small senior teams |
Experience values from digital projects of our founders and specialists; not a commitment for an individual project. The binding figure for your project is set as a fixed price after the first phase.
Months to launch: well-known software and our products
From the start of development to the first public version:
| Product | Start of development | First public version | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion | 2013 | Notion 1.0, March 2016 | 36 |
| Linear | January 2019 | Public launch 2020 | 17 |
| CIRO.immo | September 2025 | June 2026 | 9 |
| CIRO NOISE | May 2026 | Autumn 2026, live at www.ciro-noise.de | 6 |
Notion and Linear rounded from the companies' public information. CIRO.immo and CIRO NOISE are our own products; both build on the same building blocks we use in client projects.
Where the leverage comes from
01
AI in every step
What used to take weeks is ready for review after days.
02
Small senior teams
A few experienced people working with AI, with fewer handovers, less coordination and faster decisions than in a large team.
How we measure the factor
We compare person-days for features of similar size: once as experienced teams plan them without AI in the process, once as they actually turn out in our projects. The comparison is based on experience from more than 100 digital projects of our founders and specialists and on our own products.
A factor of 2 to 3 means the same work needs a third to a half of the person-days. Every line that goes into your product is still read, tested and signed off by a person on our team.
Where the leverage is smaller
AI does not speed up every task equally. The leverage is smaller for:
- Alignment with many stakeholders and long approval paths
- Device-level features, hardware and machine controls
- Regulatory acceptance and external audits
- Migrations of legacy data sets with many special cases
Sources
What the figures on this page are based on:
- Notion on Wikipedia: founded 2013, first release 2016
- About Linear: founded 2019; the public launch in 2020 is taken from the company's announcements
- CIRO.immo: our own product: development from September 2025, live since June 2026
- CIRO NOISE: our own product: development from May 2026, live since autumn 2026
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (EU AI Act): legal framework for using AI that we refer to in projects
AI leverage FAQ
AI is part of every step of our work: concept, code, content and quality assurance. It starts with your data and content, which need a structure a model can work with. Our specialists sign off every result. For you this means a first clickable version in two to three weeks, with the same standard of care.
No. People stay responsible: architecture decisions, security reviews and acceptance remain with our team. Every line is read, tested and signed off before it goes into your product. Automated checks and test agents also run on every change.
You do, completely, like any other code from your project. Source code, designs, access and documentation transfer to you. Your data is not used to train AI models; we exclude that contractually with the providers.
For most web, app and AI projects, yes. The leverage is smaller for device-level features, long approval paths and regulatory acceptance. How big it is for your project is clear after the first phase, as a fixed price for implementation.
Yes. We charge for outcomes at a fixed price per phase, and that price is based on the effort we actually spend with AI: a third to a half of traditional development. How much that means in your case is clear after the first phase, as a binding fixed price for implementation.
Large language models from established providers such as Claude and Gemini, running in the EU on request, plus our own agents for testing, research and analysis. We choose the model per task. In your products we build so that the model can be swapped later.
Let's talk about your project.
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