Ripple CEO backs AI as revenue set to double in 2026

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on Aug. 20 that the company is aggressively adopting artificial intelligence as it pursues further revenue and workforce growth.

Garlinghouse said Ripple has adopted artificial intelligence aggressively to accelerate growth across its expanding business.

Ripple employs about 1,500 people globally and plans continued hiring as revenue grows further worldwide.

Garlinghouse expects Ripple to more than double annual revenue during 2026, despite continuing market weakness.

Ripple currently lists 94 roles publicly, including engineering positions focused on AI driven operations worldwide.

Ripple Prime clears more than $3 trillion annually for over 300 institutional customers across markets.

Speaking at the SALT Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Garlinghouse described AI as an "enabler and an accelerant" for companies that already have growing businesses and customer demand.

"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," Garlinghouse said during the recorded interview.

He added that Ripple has approximately 1,500 employees worldwide and 150 open positions. Garlinghouse said the company intends to keep expanding because its business is growing.

Garlinghouse rejected the argument that AI is necessarily responsible for large corporate layoffs. He suggested that some companies may be using the technology to justify workforce reductions that were already needed.

"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,'" he said.

His comments represent an opinion about recent layoffs rather than evidence about individual companies. Businesses have attributed workforce reductions to several factors, including automation, restructuring, operating costs and changes in customer demand.

Ripple's public careers portal displayed 94 available positions when reviewed. The difference from Garlinghouse's figure may reflect roles that have not been posted publicly, positions under recruitment through other channels or changes since the conference appearance.

Some listings directly connect Ripple's engineering strategy with AI. One senior engineering role calls for an "AI native operation" using agentic development methods to expand the company's payout network without relying entirely on traditional headcount growth.

Garlinghouse said Ripple expects a record year and will "more than double revenue year on year." Ripple is privately held and does not publish the audited quarterly financial statements required of public companies. The revenue projection therefore remains company guidance.

The company has expanded beyond its original cross border payments business through acquisitions and new institutional services. Ripple completed its $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road in October 2025 and renamed the business Ripple Prime.

As previously reported, the acquisition expanded Ripple into global prime brokerage services covering digital assets and traditional markets. Ripple says the division clears more than $3 trillion annually for over 300 institutional customers.

Ripple previously said the prime brokerage business had tripled in size between the acquisition announcement and its completion. That figure is a company supplied measure and has not been independently audited through public financial filings.

The company has also expanded into corporate treasury management. In related coverage, Ripple introduced an enterprise platform for managing digital assets and liquidity following its acquisition of treasury software provider GTreasury.

Garlinghouse connected the company's outlook with its longstanding focus on financial infrastructure. Ripple sells payment, custody, stablecoin, prime brokerage and treasury services to institutions.

"More and more people are realizing that the infrastructure side, the institutional side is where it's at," he said. He described Ripple's role as connecting traditional finance with decentralized financial infrastructure.

Ripple President Monica Long made a similar case in the company's 2026 predictions. She said AI models could work alongside blockchains to automate liquidity management, margin calls and portfolio rebalancing.

The strategy does not mean Ripple will replace employees with autonomous systems. Its current position is that AI can increase the output of existing teams while helping the company serve more customers and enter additional markets.

The next measurable tests will be Ripple's hiring activity and whether it reaches Garlinghouse's revenue target. Any public listing could eventually provide independently audited financial information, but the company has not announced a confirmed timetable for an initial public offering.

Ripple's commercial growth also should not be treated as automatic growth for XRP. Ripple is a private company, while XRP is a separate digital asset. As crypto.news previously explained, many Ripple services can grow without creating direct demand for XRP.