While many vibe coding startups have become unicorns, AI-assisted coding has not yet taken off on mobile devices. Despite numerous apps offering vibe coding tools on mobile platforms, none are gaining noticeable downloads or generating revenue.
- Many vibe coding startups have become unicorns.
- Instance: AI App Builder has seen only 16,000 downloads.
- Vibecode launched with $9.4 million in seed funding.
- 84% of respondents are using or planning to use AI tools.
- RevenueCat powers in-app purchases for over 50% of AI-built iOS apps.
- Developers spend extra time fixing AI-generated code.
According to an analysis of global app store Trends by the app intelligence provider Appfigures, the largest app, Instance: AI App Builder, has seen only 16,000 downloads and $1,000 in consumer spending. The next largest app, Vibe Studio, has pulled in just 4,000 downloads but has made no money.
New apps in this space are arriving all the time. This year, a startup called Vibecode launched with $9.4 million in seed funding from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, allowing users to create mobile apps using AI within its own iOS app.
For now, most people who want to toy around with vibe coding technology are doing so on the desktop. However, vibe coding is powering a growing number of existing mobile apps.
The subscription platform provider RevenueCat reports that it powers the in-app purchases for over 50% of all AI-built iOS apps currently on the market. The company noted that the share of apps that came to RevenueCat for monetization from an AI assistant surged to over 35% of all new signups in the second quarter of this year, up from below 5% in the second quarter of last year.
Although there’s certainly interest in vibe coding, the consensus is that it’s not ready for prime time. TechCrunch spoke with developers who said the technology still has a long way to go. A survey from Fastly found that roughly 95% of the nearly 800 developers surveyed said they had to spend extra time fixing AI-generated code.
Still, user demand is there. A 2025 survey by Stack Overflow found that 84% of respondents are using or planning to use AI tools in their development process, up from 76% last year. Another survey conducted this summer by The Information found that 75% of respondents were at least trying vibe coding. A May 2025 study by Jellyfish found that 90% had integrated AI into their work, up from 61% last year.
Originally reported by techcrunch.com as “Dedicated mobile apps for vibe coding have so far failed to gain traction” on 2025-09-23 20:10:00.
