• There's a new vibe coding startup in town.
• Vibecode, which lets people make apps using AI directly in an iOS mobile app, launched this year.
• The startup exclusively told BI that it raised $9.4 million from Alexis Ohanian's 776 fund.

I bet you have an app idea.

And if you do, you've probably asked yourself, "Could I use AI to code it into reality?"

That's what Vibecode, a startup that uses AI to help you "vibe code" apps, is trying to make easier with a mobile app of its own.

Vibecode exclusively told Business Insider that it recently nabbed a $9.4 million seed investment led by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six, with participation from Long Journey Ventures, Neo, First Harmonic, and Afore Capital, as well as angel investors from Google, OpenAI, and Expo.

"For me, it was the democratization of coding and app creation that made Vibecode stand out," Ohanian told Business Insider in a statement. "Just describe your idea in plain language, right on your phone, and that's it. The mobile interface is a massive unlock in terms of accessibility, fun, and real-world use."

Ansh Nanda, CEO of Vibecode and a former engineer at Bluesky, said that after watching AI coding take off last year with tools like Cursor, he was convinced this AI use case would only grow.

"How do we bring this from technical people to the masses?" Nanda said he and one of his cofounders asked themselves at the time.

Vibecode has eight employees, including Nanda and his two cofounders, AI content creator Riley Brown and Kehan Zhang.

In June, Vibecode launched its iOS mobile app after testing a small beta through the spring. As of Wednesday, it's ranked the 12th most popular app in the "Developer Tools" category on the Apple App Store.

The app lets users explain their vision for an app using plain language, and provides examples like "note-taking app" or "Wordle clone."

Then, Vibecode starts, well, vibe coding.

Up until this week, Vibecode was relying on Anthropic's Claude model to develop apps. The startup has expanded its offerings to include multiple AI models, including OpenAI's new GPT-5, Kimi K2, and Qwen 3 Coder.

After you describe the app you want to build, Vibecode starts building the code, which you can then tweak and update "as many times as you want" by prompting the AI chat, Nanda said.

While it's free to start using Vibecode, sending more prompts and triggering updates for the app costs money. Vibecode has subscriptions from $20 to $200 a month.

Nanda told BI that more than 40,000 apps have been made with Vibecode. He did not disclose the number of users Vibecode has.

Apps as content in the AI era

Some early creations by Vibecode include a clone of the running app Strava, but with the slight twist of tracking what shoes the person is wearing. There are also recipe tracking apps and other personal utility tools, like one that helps someone track how many alcoholic drinks they're consuming, per Nanda.

"We're also seeing a bunch of users trying to build apps that they want to get onto the app store, either for their own business or for just starting a new business," Nanda said.

With tools like Loveable, Replit, Cursor, and now Vibecode, making apps is only getting easier.

If Instagram made everyone a photographer, and TikTok made us video stars, will AI make us all developers?

"Apps are becoming something anyone can create and share as easily as a meme or a story, which means we're fully in the 'apps as content' era," Ohanian said. "As more people look to build, remix, and distribute quick-turn ideas, our investment aligns with the belief that the next billion-dollar platforms will be those that allow people to continually 'ship' creative output as easily as posting content online."

But in the AI era, with ease also comes slop.

Nanda said Vibecode's goal is to make quality apps, especially as it streamlines its tools for publishing apps.

"We want to make sure that we're not just creating more apps in the app store," he said.

• Joan Nguyen co-founded Bumo to help parents book last-minute childcare.
• The app features vetted childcare providers and works similarly to Airbnb.
• The pitch deck has raised $10 million so far, with another $10 million seed round coming up.

Modern life makes it easy to order late-night cars home, book spontaneous vacation rentals, and get lightning-fast takeout. But getting childcare on short notice? For many that's still a pipe dream.

Joan Nguyen founded Bumo, an app that allows parents to book empty slots at local childcare centers, after starting two childcare ventures during the pandemic.

From working with parents, Nguyen said she realized that they often needed what she calls "fractional childcare," such as when their nanny called in sick or something pressing came up at work.

"As a parent, I also felt the pain of not being able to get childcare when you absolutely needed it," Nguyen told Business Insider. "Why is it easier for me to find a dog walker than it is to find a sitter or a nanny?"

Launched in 2024 after raising $10 million, the Bumo app was co-founded by Nguyen and Chriselle Lim. It's a continuation of a joint co-working and childcare center they launched in late 2019, followed by BumoBrain, an online learning platform they created at the height of the pandemic to help working parents.

This week, Bumo is preparing to announce a $10 million seed funding round, led by venture capital firms Offline Ventures and True Ventures, Bumo shared exclusively with Business Insider.

The app, which has about 10,000 users and offers services in 200 locations within 13 states, works similarly to Airbnb. Parents can filter and sift through childcare options from drop-in daycares to summer camps, some of them offering same-day availability.

Nguyen said Bumo also fits in with the consumer demand "to want things instantly," now accustomed to quick bookings and deliveries. Meanwhile, "you see childcare as this kind of monolithic thing that hasn't really changed a lot," she said.

Filling a gap in childcare demands

Bumo aims to offer more convenience and fill a gap in the US childcare system.

Parents are more isolated than they have been in generations, not always being able to rely on family members to help them. Many also can't afford full-time daycare, but still need some part-time childcare options.

To ensure safety, Nguyen said every service listed on Bumo is licensed by their respective state and has a "digital footprint" including past reviews. Bumo staff also interviews with each facility at least once a year (sometimes virtually depending on the provider's location) to make sure that they're up-to-date on background checks and that all staff have proper certifications.

Nguyen said that Bumo only uses original photography and videos for each facility instead of stock photos. Parents can also upload photos in their reviews.

Bumo's next step is to keep expanding in other cities; right now, Los Angeles has the highest number of childcare offerings on the app. The goal is to increase Bumo's density in San Francisco and to introduce its service in New York City.

Read the 16-page pitch deck Bumo used to secure $10 million.

Bumo opens with a positive press quote.

It sums up the key benefit of Bumo: expediency.

Introducing the founding team and each member's accomplishments.

The slide features the team members' experience levels, follower counts, and press mentions.

It defines the app and what makes it stand out.

The slide includes a graphic of the app in action.

It addresses the core childcare problems working parents face.

A simple graphic illustrates the obstacles parents face in securing childcare.

It then shows how childcare providers benefit from the app.

It highlights the practicality of the app: childcare providers have empty slots they want to fill, incentivizing them to use Bumo.

The next slide demonstrates how simple the app is to use.

It uses a similar calendar booking system to Airbnb or Rover.

The deck emphasizes lower costs.

Parents don't have to commit to full programs they can't afford.

Another slide sums up the key benefits for everyone.

It emphasizes the mutual relationship between parents and childcare providers.

The deck then transitions into Bumo's accomplishments.

It addresses how many families currently use Bumo, the number of providers, and the social media reach. It also shows investors the opportunities for growth.

Another slide highlights Bumo's commitment to digital outreach.

It shows a concerted strategy to promote the app in smaller parenting communities on Facebook and Instagram.

The presentation winds down by zooming out on the market.

It illustrates how big the childcare market is.

It draws comparisons to other successful apps.

It also asserts that, unlike the other apps, Bumo has no competition so far.

The second-to-last slide shows Bumo's projected growth.

It includes other methods of revenue and its target numbers for childcare service expansion.

The deck ends with a strong tagline.

It brands Bumo as a company that also cares about parents' well-being and understands their struggles.