a16z: AI doubled app supply but downloads stayed flat — App-Slop is the story
a16z · x · 2026-09-21
a16z's charts of the week: median startup revenue 4 years post-founding jumped from $2.8M (2021 cohort) to $5.6M (2022 cohort) after ChatGPT. Meanwhile AI codegen has doubled-to-quadrupled new apps per month across iOS, Android and Chrome, yet downloads and ratings are stagnant, and the share of apps reaching any escape velocity has plummeted. For now, App-Slop is the story — building successful software was always more than generating code.
Related event: a16z Data Shows AI Doubles App Supply While Demand Stays Flat(4 posts)→
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