Debuild
Shut DownBuild apps with plain English
AI-powered low-code platform that converts natural language descriptions into functional web applications.
About
Debuild was an AI-powered development platform that leveraged OpenAI's GPT-3 to convert plain English descriptions into functional web application code. Founded in 2020 by Sharif Shameem, a serial entrepreneur backed by Y Combinator, the platform aimed to democratize software development by enabling non-programmers to build interactive applications through natural language. The tool gained viral attention on Twitter with demos showing AI-generated CSS layouts, React components, and full web apps from simple text prompts. Debuild was one of the earliest startups to demonstrate the practical potential of large language models for code generation — predating the wave of AI coding tools by nearly two years. However, as competition intensified from platforms like Bubble, Webflow, and later GitHub Copilot, Debuild struggled to achieve product-market fit. By mid-2023, Shameem pivoted to Lexica, a visual generative AI tool, and Debuild quietly wound down operations.
DailyDropout Take
Debuild was DailyDropout's very first featured startup — and for good reason. Sharif Shameem was among the first to demonstrate that GPT-3 could generate functional code from plain English, months before the AI coding revolution went mainstream. While Debuild ultimately couldn't sustain its early momentum, it was a genuine signal of the AI-first development wave that would reshape the entire software industry.
Discovery signal: Viral GPT-3 demos on Twitter showing AI-generated web apps from plain English, YC-backed founder with prior GPU cloud startup, extremely early mover in AI code generation.
What Makes Them Unique
Debuild was among the first platforms to use GPT-3 for end-to-end code generation from natural language, predating the AI coding assistant wave by nearly two years.
30,000+ likes on demo tweets
Twitter Virality
Target Markets
Founders
Funding History
Lead: Undisclosed