🚨 New @a16z thesis: building websites / apps with AI There's been...
Justine Moore@venturetwins
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Feb 12, 2025
~4 min read
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🚨 New @a16z thesis: building websites / apps with AI
There's been an explosion of products that help users "vibe code" a web app from text prompts.
We dove deep on these tools - who's using them, how they work, and where they might be headed.
Our market map + insights 👇
There's been an explosion of products that help users "vibe code" a web app from text prompts.
We dove deep on these tools - who's using them, how they work, and where they might be headed.
Our market map + insights 👇
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@a16z @stuffyokodraws @Mascobot @GEVS94 @kirbyman01 1/ To start: why is there so much buzz?
Thousands of users - from consumers to experienced developers - are sharing what they've made with these tools.
The growth is impressive: @boltdotnew reportedly grew to $20M ARR and @lovable to $10M in 2 months of monetization.
Thousands of users - from consumers to experienced developers - are sharing what they've made with these tools.
The growth is impressive: @boltdotnew reportedly grew to $20M ARR and @lovable to $10M in 2 months of monetization.
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2/ How do these products work?
Most use an LLM to generate code based on the prompt, and then run it through middleware logic for things like tracking files and API calls.
The agents then push the code to a browser execution environment that streams the display to the user.
Most use an LLM to generate code based on the prompt, and then run it through middleware logic for things like tracking files and API calls.
The agents then push the code to a browser execution environment that streams the display to the user.
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3/ ...but do they really work?
Yes and no. They excel at simple builds. And if you can't code otherwise, they can feel like magic.
But there's a limit to what they can reliably generate. Integrations are difficult, bugs persist, and code can get "too big" quickly.
Yes and no. They excel at simple builds. And if you can't code otherwise, they can feel like magic.
But there's a limit to what they can reliably generate. Integrations are difficult, bugs persist, and code can get "too big" quickly.
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4/ How do users pick a product?
We interviewed dozens of customers and scoured thousands of posts...and created a flow chart!
Web app generation tools are great for those who (1) don't want to code, (2) don't need design control, and (3) want to make an interactive site.
From there, you can decide if you want the flexibility to download your code (to edit in your own IDE or deploy wherever you want) - or not.
We interviewed dozens of customers and scoured thousands of posts...and created a flow chart!
Web app generation tools are great for those who (1) don't want to code, (2) don't need design control, and (3) want to make an interactive site.
From there, you can decide if you want the flexibility to download your code (to edit in your own IDE or deploy wherever you want) - or not.
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Other options:
If you're looking for a landing page or informational site, a website generator like @squarespace or @DurableAI might work.
If you're a designer, you may want to use a more specialized UI generation & editing tool like @relume_io, @Galileo_AI, or @uizard.
If you're an experienced developer, you could start directly in an AI-assisted IDE like @cursor_ai (or you'll likely export your code from a generation product to edit there).
If you're looking for a landing page or informational site, a website generator like @squarespace or @DurableAI might work.
If you're a designer, you may want to use a more specialized UI generation & editing tool like @relume_io, @Galileo_AI, or @uizard.
If you're an experienced developer, you could start directly in an AI-assisted IDE like @cursor_ai (or you'll likely export your code from a generation product to edit there).
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5/ What are people building?
We segment users into 3 categories:
Consumers - long tail of personalized apps that cater to unique interests and needs. Typically not monetizing or serving users at scale.
E.g. a dad's bedtime story creator ⬇️
We segment users into 3 categories:
Consumers - long tail of personalized apps that cater to unique interests and needs. Typically not monetizing or serving users at scale.
E.g. a dad's bedtime story creator ⬇️
Daniel Brugger@_DBrugger
2nd app with Bolt.new: Bedtime Story Creator - Because creativity is hard at 9 PM.
Let’s be real—after a long day, the last thing your tired brain wants to do is create an imaginative, original bedtime story for your kid. That’s where Bedtime Story Creator saves the day! With just a few taps, you’ll have a personalized, AI-generated story crafted just for your little dreamer.
How it works:
One-time profile setup:
- Choose your preferred language (currently available: English, German, French).
- Add your child’s profile: name, age, and interests.
When it’s story time:
- Set the story duration.
- Choose categories: Adventure, Animals, Everyday Life, etc.
- Pick a theme: Friendship, Courage, Family, and more.
- Select the hero: Let your child be the star of the story, or choose a fun character like a friendly dragon, a silly robot, or even grandma.
- Add optional details (time, place, or any other special elements).
Then, the AI works its magic, transforming your choices into a unique and personalized bedtime story that your child will adore. ✨📚
What do you think? Would you use an app like this? How would you improve it? And… would you be willing to pay for it? 😉
This is my second app with Bolt (the first: x.com/_DBrugger/stat…), again using the OpenAI API (GPT 4o mini) 🚀 And it's my first time connecting to @supabase - and it worked like a charm! Huge shout out to @stackblitz for making the whole process so seamless. 💪⚡️
Let’s be real—after a long day, the last thing your tired brain wants to do is create an imaginative, original bedtime story for your kid. That’s where Bedtime Story Creator saves the day! With just a few taps, you’ll have a personalized, AI-generated story crafted just for your little dreamer.
How it works:
One-time profile setup:
- Choose your preferred language (currently available: English, German, French).
- Add your child’s profile: name, age, and interests.
When it’s story time:
- Set the story duration.
- Choose categories: Adventure, Animals, Everyday Life, etc.
- Pick a theme: Friendship, Courage, Family, and more.
- Select the hero: Let your child be the star of the story, or choose a fun character like a friendly dragon, a silly robot, or even grandma.
- Add optional details (time, place, or any other special elements).
Then, the AI works its magic, transforming your choices into a unique and personalized bedtime story that your child will adore. ✨📚
What do you think? Would you use an app like this? How would you improve it? And… would you be willing to pay for it? 😉
This is my second app with Bolt (the first: x.com/_DBrugger/stat…), again using the OpenAI API (GPT 4o mini) 🚀 And it's my first time connecting to @supabase - and it worked like a charm! Huge shout out to @stackblitz for making the whole process so seamless. 💪⚡️
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The second user segment? Developers.
These people can code, but they use text-to-web app tools to get a "leg up" on prototyping or shipping new things. They can do more, and do it faster.
E.g. a founder who added a new feature using @v0 ⬇️
x.com/lucasmcgartlan…
These people can code, but they use text-to-web app tools to get a "leg up" on prototyping or shipping new things. They can do more, and do it faster.
E.g. a founder who added a new feature using @v0 ⬇️
x.com/lucasmcgartlan…
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The last user segment is consultants & agencies.
These people typically aren't engineers, but are hired to make websites for solopreneurs or SMBs. They previously used tools like Squarespace or Wix.
E.g. this restaurant's website built by @XavAnd32:
enchante.fi
These people typically aren't engineers, but are hired to make websites for solopreneurs or SMBs. They previously used tools like Squarespace or Wix.
E.g. this restaurant's website built by @XavAnd32:
enchante.fi
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6/ Where do we see these products going next?
A couple ideas of what we expect:
1) Products focused on specific personas. Today, most are "everything to everyone" - but the best tool for consumer landing pages will look different than one for a developers making e-comm sites.
A couple ideas of what we expect:
1) Products focused on specific personas. Today, most are "everything to everyone" - but the best tool for consumer landing pages will look different than one for a developers making e-comm sites.
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2) Moving upmarket. Most users today are individuals. Adding collaboration and enterprise features could lead to adoption in orgs.
3) Packaged integrations. Add-ons (e.g. auth, payments, databases) are often hard + buggy. My experience ⬇️
3) Packaged integrations. Add-ons (e.g. auth, payments, databases) are often hard + buggy. My experience ⬇️
Justine Moore@venturetwins
Update on building Web apps with AI ✨:
I made a site that suggests your next read based on your favorite childhood books.
It also lets you log in to save and rate books.
As a non-coder, I'm proud it has working @OpenAI and @googlecloud integrations! Here's how I did it 👇
I made a site that suggests your next read based on your favorite childhood books.
It also lets you log in to save and rate books.
As a non-coder, I'm proud it has working @OpenAI and @googlecloud integrations! Here's how I did it 👇
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4) Pixel-level design control. Changing UI with text prompts (e.g. "make the box this color") is both annoying and not precise.
5) Pricing clarity + education. Most products have usage-based pricing, and users don't know how to best spend their tokens or how much it will cost.
5) Pricing clarity + education. Most products have usage-based pricing, and users don't know how to best spend their tokens or how much it will cost.
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7/ Finally - do today's text-to-web app tools persist as standalone products?
This is an interesting surface area for many products to explore - you could imagine design tools, code editors, or even the LLM companies wanting to add this as a feature. And the user experience may benefit from their broader ecosystem of features.
For today's tools, we see real opportunity in vertical-izing and going deeper into workflow. For example, imagine a product that not only helps a small business set up their website, but also makes it easy to reserve a custom domain, make marketing materials, schedule appointments, or run ads.
This is an interesting surface area for many products to explore - you could imagine design tools, code editors, or even the LLM companies wanting to add this as a feature. And the user experience may benefit from their broader ecosystem of features.
For today's tools, we see real opportunity in vertical-izing and going deeper into workflow. For example, imagine a product that not only helps a small business set up their website, but also makes it easy to reserve a custom domain, make marketing materials, schedule appointments, or run ads.
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For more of our thoughts, check out the full blog post below - and reach out if you're building something here!
Huge thanks to my amazing co-authors: @stuffyokodraws, @Mascobot, @GEVS94, and @kirbyman01
a16z.com/ai-web-app-bui…
Huge thanks to my amazing co-authors: @stuffyokodraws, @Mascobot, @GEVS94, and @kirbyman01
a16z.com/ai-web-app-bui…
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And tagging the companies in the market map:
Website generation - @ButternutAI, @DoraTool, @dorik_io, @DurableAI, @framer, @Hostinger, @jimdo, @squarespace, @Wix, @10Web_io
Web app generation - @bubble, @DatabuttonHQ, @tryoharaAI, @softr_io, @ValDotTown
Website generation - @ButternutAI, @DoraTool, @dorik_io, @DurableAI, @framer, @Hostinger, @jimdo, @squarespace, @Wix, @10Web_io
Web app generation - @bubble, @DatabuttonHQ, @tryoharaAI, @softr_io, @ValDotTown
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Web app generation w/ code migration - @boltdotnew, @codotdev, @create_xyz, @getcreatr, @heybossAI, @getLazyAI, @lovable, @Replit, @SoftgenAI, @Tempo_Labs, @Trickle_HQ, @v0
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@boltdotnew @codotdev @create_xyz @getcreatr @heybossAI @getLazyAI @lovable @Replit @SoftgenAI @Tempo_Labs @Trickle_HQ @v0 None of the above should be taken as investment advice or an advertisement for investment services; some of the companies mentioned above are portfolio companies of a16z.
A list of investments made by a16z is available at a16z.com/portfolio.
A list of investments made by a16z is available at a16z.com/portfolio.
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Oh! I forgot to include the most important app.
My "Has Tilly been fed?" tracker, which I made with @Replit.
Check out the full thread for a non-coder's experience making a Web app from her phone ⬇️
My "Has Tilly been fed?" tracker, which I made with @Replit.
Check out the full thread for a non-coder's experience making a Web app from her phone ⬇️
Justine Moore@venturetwins
I'm completely non-technical (never coded).
But I just built a Web app from my phone by chatting with an AI agent on @Replit.
It handles UI, database, debugging, deployment...
Now I have a tracker for to answer life's most important question: "Has the dog been fed?"
But I just built a Web app from my phone by chatting with an AI agent on @Replit.
It handles UI, database, debugging, deployment...
Now I have a tracker for to answer life's most important question: "Has the dog been fed?"
