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Marco Perez, a 27-year-old software engineer based in Chicago, had never created a mobile app before. Over the winter, he didn\u2019t let his lack of experience hold him back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to a recent report from The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, Perez used AI tools to create an app for him, a practice known as vibe coding. Over the course of seven weeks, he generated an app called InfoDrizzle<\/a>, which consolidated news from interesting sources into one place. Since its release, InfoDrizzle has crossed 1,300 downloads and $500 in profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perez kept going. Armed with the experience of creating InfoDrizzle, he was able to release another app in May after just one week of work. The app was called Stampa<\/a>; it transforms pictures into digital postage stamps. The app reached a wider audience than InfoDrizzle, achieving 20,000 downloads and $3,000 in profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n These two apps have recently joined a surge of new offerings on Apple\u2019s App Store. The rise of vibe coding has enabled entrepreneurs who don\u2019t know how to code or who have never created apps to bring their ideas to life with little technical knowledge. AI fills in the gaps in their understanding and enables them to profit from their ideas. With vibe coding, AI users can describe an idea to an AI tool in plain English and watch it build a custom app or website on their behalf.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perez isn\u2019t done yet. He plans on leaving his software engineering job at JPMorgan Chase next month to create apps full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m talking to these people all the time who are way, way, way ahead of me,\u201d Perez said. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy how much money they\u2019re making and the opportunities that are there and how fast you can move. Some of these people have failed, have made five apps, and their sixth app blows up.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez said that the mobile app space \u201cwas really hot 10 years ago,\u201d but then cooled down and \u201ckind of got boring.\u201d Now the field is \u201cthe hottest thing again\u201d due to AI and vibe coding eliminating the technical barrier, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even though AI makes it easier to create new apps, it doesn\u2019t necessarily guarantee meaningful adoption. It remains uncertain if vibe coding is revitalizing the App Store ecosystem or simply adding to its noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recent data suggests a surge in activity. New app releases climbed 30% last year to about 600,000, according to estimates by app analytics firm Sensor Tower<\/a>. That acceleration has continued, with approximately 560,000 apps launched in just the first half of this year alone.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, App Store downloads haven\u2019t grown at the same pace. Sensor Tower found that downloads grew 3% last year to 35.4 billion and 2% in the first half of this year to 17.6 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Apple first introduced the App Store in 2008, prompting developers to rush in with new apps. The number of new apps that debuted on the App Store reached a record high of 890,000<\/a> in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Marco Perez, a 27-year-old software engineer based in Chicago, had never created a mobile app before. Over the winter, he didn\u2019t let his lack of experience hold him back.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to a recent report from The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, Perez used AI tools to create an app for him, a practice known as vibe coding. Over the course of seven weeks, he generated an app called InfoDrizzle<\/a>, which consolidated news from interesting sources into one place. Since its release, InfoDrizzle has crossed 1,300 downloads and $500 in profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perez kept going. Armed with the experience of creating InfoDrizzle, he was able to release another app in May after just one week of work. The app was called Stampa<\/a>; it transforms pictures into digital postage stamps. The app reached a wider audience than InfoDrizzle, achieving 20,000 downloads and $3,000 in profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPerez\u2019s future plans<\/h2>\n
New apps are on the rise<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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