Dennis Xu is a repeatedly founder of tech startups, but he is the first to admit that he is not a programmer.
After co-founding one of Openai’s earliest venture investments, the AI notebook-taking app Mem, he now launches a new startup called Adaptive Computer.
Its epic mission is nothing more than a complete rethink of personal computer software. He hopes that non-programmers are using a fully-featured app they’ve created themselves, simply by typing a text prompt into Adaptive’s no-code web-app platform.
To make that happen, XU and co-founder Mike Soil announced a $7 million seed round led by Pebblebed over participation from convictions, Weekend Fund, Jake Paul’s anti-fund and Roblox CEO Dave Basackie. (PebbleBed is a relatively new seed fund founded by former Stripe AI engineer Pamela Vagata and former chief architect Keith Adams of Slack.)
Before LLMS, Xu said he had to work with designers. The designer worked with the engineers to “basically influence people” to build what he envisioned. (He left MEM in 2023.)
But now, he explains, “We’ll be able to put something in everybody’s pocket and put it where they can actually build the personal computer of their dreams.”
Certainly, despite the name of the company, this is not about the computer itself or the hardware. Startups are currently building only web apps.
However, for every app it builds, the Adaptive computer’s engine handles the creation of database instances, user authentication, file management, and can create apps with AI features such as (via Stripe), scheduled tasks, image generation, voice integration, content analysis, web search/research, and more.
When I demoed a product called AC1, which still means limited features and features, I gave it a text prompt asking for a bike ride log app. A minute later I built a JavaScript-based app with a backend database.
The app wasn’t integrated with third-party services like My Fitness Watch, but it automatically added features like sorting rides, tallying total distances, and comparing vehicles. This is also a completely functional website, not a prototype, and can be shared with others to record my vehicle without sharing my personal data.
For a true non-programmer
As interesting as this idea, it means that Adaptive Computer writes code based on text prompts, not the first and only “vibe coding” platform.
Competitors claim to have over 30 million users, and have started to deal with non-programmers very heavily as founder CEO Amjad Masad caused anger last month when he declared X. “I don’t think you should learn to code anymore.”
Fast at the heels of either company is adorable, claiming that coding projects with that atmosphere are not just suitable for programmers, but are better designed than Figma. The early stage Swedish startup claims to have expanded its customer base to $10 million with ARR in its first 60 days.
Xu says the difference between these more established products and his startups is that other products were originally directed at making programming easier for programmers.
And that means that non-programmers may have trouble using them. “Try building an AI tool with either of them. Please give us an API key,” says Xu. It says that these types of details create difficulty for non-programmers. “We’re building for everyday people who are interested in creating things to make their lives better. Their users are people who are building apps for others.”
In addition to taking care of backend databases and other technical details, adaptive apps may work together. For example, users can create file hosting apps, and the following apps can access those files:
Xu likens this as an “operating system” rather than a single web app.
Other examples of early user-created apps include AI-generated storytelling. Coffee bean e-commerce site. Text vs. Speech Leader in PDF Files.
Adaptive Computer has three subscription levels: Limited free version. $20 a month. Created by/Pro for $100 per $100.
This is the peak.
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