Wabi Lets Anyone Build Apps With AI for Free

Frustrated with bloated apps that demand subscriptions for features you don't need? Eugenia Kuyda felt the same way when her favorite weight tracker got complicated, and now she's built a solution.

Her new platform, Wabi, lets anyone create simple apps using AI prompts. Users can build exactly what they need, share it with others, and remix existing apps, all completely free.

Kuyda, who previously founded AI companion startup Replika, compares her vision to how YouTube revolutionized video. Before YouTube, creating and sharing videos required hosting expertise and technical know-how. Now Wabi handles all the backend complexity like hosting, security, privacy policies, and content moderation while users focus on creating.

"As soon as the cost of creating software goes to zero, all of a sudden you can build so many things that wouldn't exist before," Kuyda explains. The platform has already attracted $20 million in preseed funding for this vision.

The approach solves a problem many of us face daily. Apps become bloated because developers need to justify subscription prices with endless features. When creating and sharing becomes free, developers can build focused tools that do one thing well.

Think of it as casual "vibe coding" rather than professional development. Unlike services aimed at developers like Replit and Cursor, Wabi welcomes complete beginners. You don't need to understand code or worry about where your app lives online.

The Ripple Effect

This democratization of app building could reshape our relationship with software entirely. Instead of downloading massive apps packed with unwanted features, people could create and share tiny, purpose-built tools.

The platform comes with trade-offs. Creators won't own their apps outright or easily move them outside Wabi's ecosystem. Questions remain about long-term monetization and whether people will embrace downloading an app full of mini-apps.

But Kuyda envisions apps connecting with each other as users cobble together personalized software experiences. The goal isn't replacing professional developers but empowering everyone to scratch specific itches with custom solutions.

If Wabi succeeds, your next favorite app might come from your neighbor, not Silicon Valley, built in minutes because someone needed exactly what you need too.