love it. but that makes me think that development is no longer the bottleneck —distribution and positioning are. and my bet that the ASim fucntionality will find it place in the current media platfrom.
say, if tiktok launches an ai app store, it won’t be for complex software—it’ll start with low-friction, high-retention apps: ai-powered video enhancements (think face-swaps, lip sync, object replacement) or micro-utilities, something like ASim does.
for platforms, it’s obvious—more engagement, higher monetization, and a new vertical.
for creators, it’s a no-brainer—why funnel traffic to some app store when you can keep users inside tiktok, get them to install, and even monetize directly?
even the infamous 30% app store cut could be creatively sidestepped—imagine launching your own meme coin for in-app purchases instead.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
thanks for the kind words! yep, this is exactly how we're thinking about this space as well! we think as software dev costs compress, it'll become a new modality of expression, similar to how we've seen images and video platforms take off as creation costs start to really compress.
zkid18 1 days ago [-]
cool! happy to connect with you folks! my twitter: kidrulit
qoez 1 days ago [-]
This reply would be a lot easier to read with some capitalization after punctuation.
kridsdale1 1 days ago [-]
There at least 2 capital letters in that post.
gtr32x 1 days ago [-]
The embedded mini-app ecosystem is a real model in China. Wechat being the most popular platform. Douyin also has a good share of it. You even see such ecosystem in payment apps like Alipay. I'm also certain there are special deals with Apple structured around this concept.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
ya - i think the replication of the wechat super-app has been attempted so many times in the west at this point, but maybe agi coding solves this...?
zkid18 12 hours ago [-]
the playbook works relatively well outside west hemisphere.
grab, gojek, gozem, yassir scaled well beyond services to fintech.
deadbabe 1 days ago [-]
Development hasn’t been the bottleneck for a long time people are just lazy
dartos 15 hours ago [-]
It’s only the bottleneck for orgs that don’t know how to keep focus and bloated orgs with too many teams/managers/engineers.
And scrappy startups made by businesses school dropouts (and grads)
ncr100 13 hours ago [-]
[Answered]
Does it play sound at this stage? or other media (eg video, beyond still images and text and UI?)
EDIT Thank you for making and sharing this -- it is pushing the future closer to today (euphemisms are my superpower lol jk)!
EDIT 2: I see the "Enable Sound API/Access" toggle in the Gear icon, below my generation. Exploring this now.
EDIT 3: Behold the HORROR (Works in Desktop Browser) English -> Morse code with "Sound": http://asim.sh/s/160375
- tip: beware of playing long morse code sequences, there is no stopping it.
dli123 11 hours ago [-]
hahahaha i love it!!
sound and video generation are very very primitive compared to image gen. definitely something we want to beef up though!
ncr100 2 hours ago [-]
:-) I was surprised when it spoke aloud, myself!
bambax 16 hours ago [-]
I tried and keep stuck in a loop between "Oops! Simulation failed" and "Try Fixing".
It's always the same error but it's not displayed in full: "Error: 297:3:invalid statement encou..." ('encountered' probably? but where? how? why not show the full error?)
Also, what are 'Agent' and 'Genius'? (two different app candidates?)
dli123 11 hours ago [-]
will take a look at this loop.
yep, agent and genius are 2 distinct pipelines we're testing.
bambax 10 hours ago [-]
user id is 'bambax' just like here
aaurelions 1 days ago [-]
Cool, aSim - it's a0.dev + Expo?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
yep, you could describe it like that!
realprimoh 2 days ago [-]
Looks awesome! How do you plan to monetize down the road?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
we're currently planning on adding the ability for app creators to charge users, similar to Roblox/Robux if you're familiar, and that revenue will be shared between us and the app creator
ddxv 1 days ago [-]
So where do the 'apps' you generate live? On my Google Play account or just inside of Asim?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
currently they only live inside of aSim, but we are playing around with the idea of being able to export apps. the Android APK export is definitely doable, but the iOS side is definitely more challenging, so unsure if we will commit to it.
ddxv 1 days ago [-]
What about monetization? Do you think integrating ad networks or IAP and then sharing ad monetization revenue or IAP revenue with developers is a good way to go?
dartos 15 hours ago [-]
I’d say this is more a tool for prototypes.
You could secure angel funding off a simple prototype.
You could also make something funny and share it with friends, if it doesn’t need to be monetized.
I wouldn’t use tools like this for long lived products though.
leonhard 1 days ago [-]
Would like to try it out but I’m not receiving the verification code on my UK number.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
we're definitely under heavy load right now - might be hitting some rate limits. can you try again now? if it still doesn't work, hit me up at dli@asim.sh or on our discord https://www.asim.sh/discord and i'll get you sorted!
pzo 1 days ago [-]
Looks like many of those mobile app generators these days:
Seems like most (all?) are making react native apps using expo.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
We’re a bit different than these since our apps are instantly deployed, not deployed through expo. So right after generation, you tap on your app and it loads and is usable, kinda like a webpage.
React native definitely seems to work the best! I think the current generation LLMs have just seen so much js/ts they can just about do anything in those languages.
kridsdale1 1 days ago [-]
This all feels like Dreamweaver + 25 years, to me.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
wow I haven't heard someone bring up dreamweaver in probably a decade. brings back memories of coding on my cow colored gateway laptop :')
ddxv 1 days ago [-]
I think you're missing some too. I've been vaguely following and have seen very few that actually seem to have any apps on the app store and those that I found were basic examples.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
yea there's a ton now that i've stopped trying to keep tabs on them. i agree that most 'vibe-coded' apps are still really, really basic, so we try to lean into that. give some cool apis that make certain things easy, and make it easy to create kinda dumb, but fun apps. the sweet spot is usually some kind of meme, or something with your friends, like https://asim.sh/@rish/s/157178/create-a-cute-gamified-app-ca...
i think i've seen this prompt at least 5 times today in the logs lol
swyx 1 days ago [-]
congrats on launching. how are you handling backend needs? firebase? supabse? whats good/whats missing?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
thanks! we just use good old fashioned postgres running on azure, paired with a node server and blob storage in r2. i like how simple it is, and logs show up in places i'd expect without having to remember how to navigate some ui. queuing was something that took a bit to figure out correctly, but pg-boss ended up being the most straighfoward/easy to deploy on our infra.
swyx 1 days ago [-]
oh man sorry i didnt mean YOUR backend, i mean the backend of the apps that you make. in the demo video you showed something about Yikyak clone. whats the backend of that?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
haha oh, these kinds of clones are mostly just built on basic KV stores that we store in our postgres db! there's a couple different types of KV stores we give the app generations, but it's mostly just differing auth types (global, private, shared w/ friends).
swyx 10 hours ago [-]
decent solution for now. curious the tradeoffs of storing the kv in postgres vs a dedicated db. doesnt matter til the apps take off i guess!
purple-leafy 1 days ago [-]
While that’s interesting, what I’m really after these days is a Mobile App that generates Mobile Apps that generate Mobile Apps
You can never have too many mobile app generators
dli123 1 days ago [-]
will be taking a note of this and putting into consideration for our next venture!
econ 14 hours ago [-]
Think endless currying
Rendello 1 days ago [-]
Perhaps you could loop it back and make a quine, too.
dli123 1 days ago [-]
hmm, kinda like a... y combinator?
sirjaz 17 hours ago [-]
I'd love to see this adapted for desktop apps. Any plans on doing that?
asim 1 days ago [-]
Ironic that I end up competing with an AI app generator for work...
dli123 1 days ago [-]
haha i think it's been a great namesake!
13 hours ago [-]
compootr 1 days ago [-]
nice april fools joke!
lukaskf 2 days ago [-]
This is so wild. Definitely one of the cooler uses of AI I have seen, especially for a consumer/app/game.
dli123 2 days ago [-]
thank you! we've definitely had a blast building it, hope you enjoy it!
dostick 1 days ago [-]
[flagged]
dli123 1 days ago [-]
haha no (at least not to my knowledge)! just following in gmail's footsteps of launching on april fools
999900000999 2 days ago [-]
Have to provide a number just to try someone else's app, hard pass.
dli123 2 days ago [-]
Thx for the feedback - didnt have a chance to implement email otps (will start that now!) and even less didn’t want to figure out sign in with google/apple
999900000999 2 days ago [-]
Why do I need to sign in at all to view ?
dli123 1 days ago [-]
unfortunately we've already been targeted by a small scale DOS attack (or wallet attack?), and account creation on our most expensive model was the only way we could solve the problem for now :/
OsrsNeedsf2P 1 days ago [-]
I've worked in the anti-bot space for a while. Friction to real users is a huge cost. I strongly recommend a better solution.
Apocryphon 1 days ago [-]
We need an AI app that generates and manages throwaway sign-ups with a single click so we can use AI apps that generate mobile apps.
prawn 24 hours ago [-]
Wouldn't adding either of those be quite straightforward leaning on AI?
hashmelons 1 days ago [-]
[dead]
hashmelons 1 days ago [-]
[dead]
Rendered at 04:32:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
say, if tiktok launches an ai app store, it won’t be for complex software—it’ll start with low-friction, high-retention apps: ai-powered video enhancements (think face-swaps, lip sync, object replacement) or micro-utilities, something like ASim does.
for platforms, it’s obvious—more engagement, higher monetization, and a new vertical.
for creators, it’s a no-brainer—why funnel traffic to some app store when you can keep users inside tiktok, get them to install, and even monetize directly?
even the infamous 30% app store cut could be creatively sidestepped—imagine launching your own meme coin for in-app purchases instead.
And scrappy startups made by businesses school dropouts (and grads)
Does it play sound at this stage? or other media (eg video, beyond still images and text and UI?)
EDIT Thank you for making and sharing this -- it is pushing the future closer to today (euphemisms are my superpower lol jk)!
EDIT 2: I see the "Enable Sound API/Access" toggle in the Gear icon, below my generation. Exploring this now.
EDIT 3: Behold the HORROR (Works in Desktop Browser) English -> Morse code with "Sound": http://asim.sh/s/160375
- tip: beware of playing long morse code sequences, there is no stopping it.
sound and video generation are very very primitive compared to image gen. definitely something we want to beef up though!
It's always the same error but it's not displayed in full: "Error: 297:3:invalid statement encou..." ('encountered' probably? but where? how? why not show the full error?)
Also, what are 'Agent' and 'Genius'? (two different app candidates?)
yep, agent and genius are 2 distinct pipelines we're testing.
You could secure angel funding off a simple prototype.
You could also make something funny and share it with friends, if it doesn’t need to be monetized.
I wouldn’t use tools like this for long lived products though.
https://asim.sh/
https://bolt.new/
https://replit.com/
https://a0.dev/
https://www.create.xyz/
https://www.tempo.new/
Seems like most (all?) are making react native apps using expo.
React native definitely seems to work the best! I think the current generation LLMs have just seen so much js/ts they can just about do anything in those languages.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43342101
Also Lovable, which the above is inspired by!
You can never have too many mobile app generators