Coding tools could make companies with weak, replaceable software more vulnerable in the artificial intelligence era, according to PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) co-founder Max Levchin.
“It’s long overdue to get rid of bad software,” Levchin said on the “Sourcery” podcast last month.
He also called the idea of rebuilding DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) with AI the “silliest” claim, saying not all software-driven companies face the same risk.
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The App Isn’t The Hard Part
Levchin used the food delivery company to show why not every software-driven business is easy to rebuild with coding tools.
“DoorDash is not important by way of having a great app,” Levchin told podcast host Molly O’Shea. “It’s important because it integrates with all your favorite restaurants.”
Levchin said the company is unlikely to be replaced unless AI tools can handle calling restaurants, negotiating with owners, installing the right tablets and software, and extracting menus.
The Bar For Software Is Rising Fast
Levchin identified the most vulnerable companies as those selling software without proprietary data or any unique advantage.
“The bar for quality of software is going up rapidly,” he said.
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Levchin told O’Shea that some software could still be used even if it had a bad interface, as long as it served an important function. He said that not wanting to hire engineers or build the same thing no longer works.
“If you really hate some piece of software that you’re using and it just doesn’t have some deep sort of proprietary data, proprietary source of value, it will get replaced,” he said.
The Prototype Era Got A Shortcut
Large language model-powered tools can help builders move from an idea to a prototype and toward production-ready software much faster, Levchin said on the podcast.
Developers who understand software can use these tools to build products themselves, not just prototypes, he said. He pointed to building his own iOS app to replace a home remote-control setup, saying tools helped him move past the setup work and focus on the functionality he wanted.
“The barrier to entry into an area of programming that you’ve never done before is nil,” Levchin said.
Levchin’s comments reflect a broader shift in how AI is reshaping software development and digital work. Some investors are also watching startups building next-generation productivity platforms, including one pre-IPO company whose immersive workspace technology is already used by more than 1.5 million professionals.
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