Key Takeaways
- Vibe coding is the practice of using AI to write code on a user’s behalf using prompts in plain language.
- Affirm CEO Max Levchin said vibe coding is rapidly raising the bar for software quality, making it easier to replace clunky, generic tools and potentially putting some companies out of business.
- Meanwhile, he said businesses like DoorDash are “safe” because they depend on real-world logistics, integrations and relationships — not just an app.
Max Levchin, PayPal cofounder and CEO of Affirm, isn’t worried about companies like DoorDash. In his view, businesses rooted in complex logistics and real-world operations are “actually quite safe” from being swept away by the rise of vibe coding — the new wave of using AI to build apps from plain-English prompts.
Levchin, who now leads the $19.9 billion buy now, pay later fintech startup Affirm, told the Sourcery podcast earlier this week that AI could wipe out some companies that make software.
“The bar for quality of software is going up rapidly,” Levchin explained. If a piece of software “kind of sucks” and “has a bad interface,” companies can easily build a better version themselves using AI coding tools, he said. In other words, companies are vibe coding to replace poorly working apps and tools with their own versions, potentially putting some firms out of business.
“I think companies that have built software and just sell that software are very vulnerable,” Levchin said. “If you really hate some piece of software that you’re using and the software doesn’t have some deep sort of proprietary data, proprietary source of value, it will get replaced. There’s no reason why not.”
In that disruptive landscape, delivery apps like DoorDash stand out, he said. DoorDash employees have called every restaurant, negotiated with owners and extracted menus, all to create a seamless food delivery experience. DoorDash depends on real-world logistics, integrations and relationships — it’s not just an app.
“By way of having a great app, it’s important because it integrates with all your favorite restaurants,” Levchin said. “I think DoorDash is actually quite safe in their business.”
A software apocalypse
Levchin’s remarks come amid fresh debate over the future of software. Tech stocks recently took a beating in what some are calling the “software apocalypse.” The sell-off began in early February, when cautious investors grew alarmed by Anthropic’s new AI tool — a system capable of handling a wide range of clerical tasks for legal professionals. The tool suggested that AI was moving beyond routine data processing and into specialized domains, per Business Insider. It also indicated that Anthropic was taking aim at the legal software market.
Since then, shares of major software players like Salesforce, Snowflake, and Microsoft have fallen between 18% and 38% this year amid mounting concerns that companies could use AI to develop their own software tools instead of buying theirs, per Business Insider. The selloff wiped out nearly $1 trillion from software and services stocks, per Reuters.
It’s still important to learn how to code
On the podcast, Levchin described how he now vibe codes by prompting Anthropic’s Claude to write code for him. Despite his reliance on AI coding tools, the CEO, who majored in computer science in college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, said learning to code is still essential for software engineering. He called writing code “an art form” and noted that “some code is more elegant than others.”
“There’s a matter of taste and elegance in programming,” he said. “You still need some degree of taste… to steer [AI] towards the right outcome. And for that, you have to understand what you’re doing.”
Key Takeaways
- Vibe coding is the practice of using AI to write code on a user’s behalf using prompts in plain language.
- Affirm CEO Max Levchin said vibe coding is rapidly raising the bar for software quality, making it easier to replace clunky, generic tools and potentially putting some companies out of business.
- Meanwhile, he said businesses like DoorDash are “safe” because they depend on real-world logistics, integrations and relationships — not just an app.
Max Levchin, PayPal cofounder and CEO of Affirm, isn’t worried about companies like DoorDash. In his view, businesses rooted in complex logistics and real-world operations are “actually quite safe” from being swept away by the rise of vibe coding — the new wave of using AI to build apps from plain-English prompts.
Levchin, who now leads the $19.9 billion buy now, pay later fintech startup Affirm, told the Sourcery podcast earlier this week that AI could wipe out some companies that make software.
“The bar for quality of software is going up rapidly,” Levchin explained. If a piece of software “kind of sucks” and “has a bad interface,” companies can easily build a better version themselves using AI coding tools, he said. In other words, companies are vibe coding to replace poorly working apps and tools with their own versions, potentially putting some firms out of business.
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