Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company has fully embraced artificial intelligence (AI), describing the technology as a driver of expansion rather than a threat, during an appearance at the SALT Wyoming conference, a crypto-focused gathering that draws industry executives and policymakers.

"I have a somewhat contrarian view on some of this," Garlinghouse stated. "Ripple has adopted AI aggressively. I think if you are in a growing business, a growing category, and taking share, AI is an enabler and an accelerant."

The Ripple chief pushed back on the idea that AI is the cause of recent high-profile corporate downsizings. "When I see companies announce big layoffs and they say, 'Oh, well, AI X, Y, and Z,' that to me says, 'Well, they were bloated before and they're using this as an excuse.'"

His comments come as a string of major technology companies — among them Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft — have cut thousands of jobs while pointing to AI as one factor reshaping how they staff and organize their workforces, a debate that Garlinghouse's remarks wade directly into.

Instead, he framed the technology as a tool for expansion: "AI, if you are in a business that has opportunity to grow and you're serving customers and have compelling solutions, AI just lets you do that better and faster and stronger."

Hiring despite headwinds

Garlinghouse pointed to Ripple's own expansion as evidence. "Ripple has 150 open positions right now. We're 1,500 people around the world, and we're going to continue to grow because our business is growing quickly, and AI just helps us grow into that," he said.

The hiring plans sit alongside a broadened institutional business. Ripple built its name on cross-border payments running on the XRP Ledger, and in recent years has added digital-asset custody — expanded through its 2023 acquisition of Swiss custody firm Metaco — as well as the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD, which launched in December 2024 after approval from New York's financial regulator.

Record year in a bear market

Garlinghouse also noted Ripple's ongoing success despite various market headwinds. "We are in the bear market," he acknowledged, but added, "Ripple's going to have a record year. We'll more than double revenue year on year."

Ripple is privately held and does not publish audited financial results, so the revenue projection rests on Garlinghouse's own account.

He attributed this performance to the company's long-term focus on infrastructure. "More and more people are realizing that the infrastructure side, the institutional side is where it's at," he said. "Ripple somewhat controversially has always been focused on the kind of bridge between traditional finance and decentralized finance."

That positioning played out against the backdrop of Ripple's long-running legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over XRP, which wound down in 2025 after a federal judge ruled in 2023 that programmatic sales of the token on exchanges did not constitute securities offerings.