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Launch HN: ASim (YC S21) – Mobile app that generates mobile apps

84 points dli123 | 10 comments | 01 Apr 25 15:06 UTC | HN request time: 1.021s | source | bottom

Hey HN, we’re Daniel and Daniel (the Daniels) from aSim (https://asim.sh/). aSim is a mobile app that can generate immediately usable and shareable mobile apps from your phone.

Tools like bolt.new and v0 have made it easier to build websites by just chatting with an LLM, but things have been lagging on the mobile side. We’ve always been suckers for well-made mobile apps, but today, it is still extremely difficult to build mobile apps with LLMs on your computer, and nearly impossible to do it from your phone.

We built aSim to make it easy to build prototypes, “trinket” apps, or just random fun things all async from your phone. You can check our landing page (https://asim.sh/) for some ideas of different types of apps. Hopefully we can bring some life to your side project graveyard, or at least make the graveyard even more numerous.

Here’s a demo video of the generation process: https://youtu.be/_3VCl13oMGc

And here are the actual one-shotted apps I made in that video:

- https://asim.sh/@dli/s/157003/make-an-app-where-i-can-upload...

- https://asim.sh/@dli/s/157014/make-me-an-app-that-is-a-clone...

- https://asim.sh/@dli/s/157006/make-me-a-chess-timer-app-for-...

All of our app generations also get access to a set of APIs that help get the ball rolling on some basic functionality. These APIs range from LLM usage and image generation to having shared state with your friends, and globally among all users. We’re always on the lookout for new API integrations (i.e. Spotify and Maps) so please let us know if you need any!

We’ve had a small cohort of beta users that have been making what we think are some pretty cool apps. Here’s some of our favorites:

- Pokemon-style Gacha Game - https://asim.sh/@evan/s/126948/elves-vs-monsters

- OpenStreetMap stats: https://asim.sh/@lake/s/104102/osm-stats

- Star wars idle game: https://asim.sh/@jojaspero/s/29102

- Find your Meyers Briggs - https://asim.sh/@typewhisperer/s/135964/jung-mirror (<-- just for fun, you don’t have to believe in MB :))

- AI Tic Tac Toe - https://asim.sh/@hashmelons/s/105561/ai-tic-tac

Behind the scenes, we’re generating a modified version of Typescript React Native that can be parsed and compiled into simpler instructions that can be sent to mobile devices on the fly. We’ve ripped out some parts of the TSC library, as well as lean heavily on AcornJS to massage the (mostly usable) LLM code into something that can actually be run. We have a bunch of static analyzers, as well as leaning on web runtimes to catch runtime errors (as well as take screenshots), though at the very end of the day, we lean the most on our users to play around with their creations and remix them into something great.

It’s currently completely free to use, so we hope you check out aSim at https://asim.sh/ and enjoy it as much as we have while building it! Let us know what features you’d like to see and any problems you have with your generations.

1. zkid18 ◴[01 Apr 25 17:48 UTC] No.43549615[source]▶
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.

replies(4): >>43549679 #>>43549697 #>>43550504 #>>43551823 #
2. dli123 ◴[01 Apr 25 17:55 UTC] No.43549679[source]▶
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.
replies(1): >>43551664 #
3. qoez ◴[01 Apr 25 17:57 UTC] No.43549697[source]▶
This reply would be a lot easier to read with some capitalization after punctuation.
replies(1): >>43551607 #
4. deadbabe ◴[01 Apr 25 19:28 UTC] No.43550504[source]▶
Development hasn’t been the bottleneck for a long time people are just lazy
replies(1): >>43556394 #
5. kridsdale1 ◴[01 Apr 25 21:39 UTC] No.43551607[source]▶
There at least 2 capital letters in that post.
6. zkid18 ◴[01 Apr 25 21:46 UTC] No.43551664[source]▶
cool! happy to connect with you folks! my twitter: kidrulit
7. gtr32x ◴[01 Apr 25 22:06 UTC] No.43551823[source]▶
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.
replies(1): >>43551955 #
8. dli123 ◴[01 Apr 25 22:26 UTC] No.43551955[source]▶
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...?
replies(1): >>43558315 #
9. dartos ◴[02 Apr 25 13:21 UTC] No.43556394[source]▶
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)

10. zkid18 ◴[02 Apr 25 16:15 UTC] No.43558315{3}[source]▶
the playbook works relatively well outside west hemisphere. grab, gojek, gozem, yassir scaled well beyond services to fintech.