From Developer Seats to Autonomous Agents: A CTO’s Playbook for Token Optimization

​AI costs are no longer limited to developer seats. As coding assistants become standard and autonomous agents take on increasingly complex workflows, engineering leaders need a new approach to understanding and controlling token usage.

​Join Johann Beukes for a practical session on managing AI costs across developer tools and autonomous systems—without slowing teams down or limiting innovation.

​No sales pitch. Just vendor-neutral strategies, practical lessons, and an honest discussion.

​What we’ll cover

• ​How token usage differs between AI coding assistants and autonomous agents

• ​How to gain visibility into costs by team, tool, and workflow

• ​Where hidden waste occurs and how to eliminate it

• ​How to establish governance policies without reducing developer productivity

• ​Practical optimization strategies you can implement this quarter

​Why attend

​If you’re responsible for engineering strategy, AI adoption, infrastructure costs, or developer productivity, this session will help you build a clearer and more sustainable approach to managing AI usage at scale.

​Speaker

​Johann Beukes
Managing Partner & CTO, 11.2 Ventures
Angel investor and technology leader helping companies turn AI initiatives into production-ready products with measurable business impact.