Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu took to the social networking platform X to weigh in on how quickly software creation is being changed by generative AI ,replying to another post on X where a developer with no coding experience has launched a fully functional iOS app on Apple’s App Store using AI coding tools.
According to the creator, the total cost of building the app was just $319, which includes a $200 subscription to Claude Max, a $20 subscription to ChatGPT Pro and a $99 developer fee to Apple.
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The app, called ‘10 Minute Gita’, was built by a first-time maker who said they “didn’t know how to write a single line of code” a week earlier. The creator took to X and claimed they wrote zero lines of code, using Anthropic’s Claude Code to generate the application while describing requirements in plain English. OpenAI’s Codex was used to review the output, according to the post.
According to the creator’s post on X, the app offers 239 daily readings from the Bhagavad Gita, including original Sanskrit shlokas, transliteration, verse-by-verse translations and commentary. It also includes streak tracking with a calendar heatmap, offline access after download, bilingual support in Hindi and English, and shareable verse cards.
Currently, the app is only available on iOS store with one review. There are no details about the downloads that the app experienced thus far.
Vembu: ‘consider alternative livelihoods’
Reacting to the post, Vembu said examples of AI-assisted software engineering were “pouring in” and argued that the technology is now capable of handling complex programming work.
He pointed to Anthropic’s claim that its Claude AI has been used to build a C compiler, an advanced engineering task, and said the implications for software jobs are becoming hard to ignore.
“At this point, it is best for those of us who depend on writing code for a living to start considering alternative livelihoods. I include myself in this,” Vembu wrote. He added that he was not expressing panic, but “calm acceptance”.
A new barrier: problem definition, not code
The episode shows how quickly app development is moving from specialist engineering to a workflow driven by product thinking and clear instructions. Tools like Claude Code, Codex and similar AI coding assistants can now generate entire codebases, test features and fix bugs, compressing timelines that earlier required teams of developers.
For consumer apps, especially those with familiar building blocks such as reading interfaces, streak systems, theming and offline caching, the shift has made it possible for non-technical users to ship working products with relatively small budgets.
Two futures: decentralisation or control
Vembu also used the moment to outline two competing outcomes for the AI economy. In an optimistic scenario, he said, technology becomes so trivial and abundant that it fades into the background thereby freeing people to focus on family, culture, nature and community life.
“The optimist in me thinks that this technology will make most technological prowess by humans redundant and that would push tech to the background (all tech become trivial, like digital watches today) and we then get to focus on life, family, soil, water, nature, art, music, culture, sports, festivals and faith (faith is important), and that is best done in small close-knit rural communities. I live a life like this today and if we solve rural poverty, I consider this a very good life,” Vembu said on X.
In a pessimistic version, he warned of “centralised control”, depending on who owns and extracts rent from AI systems. He also linked to a discussion he said he had with Google’s Gemini on how AI could reshape the economy.
Pressure builds on software roles
While AI-generated apps are not new, instances where a non-coder ships a polished product to the App Store are increasing, and are being amplified by prominent tech leaders. This instance also amplifies on how entry-level engineering is changing.