About x1
x1 is a San Francisco AI app studio backed by Y Combinator. We help builders turn app ideas into working iPhone products through a structured process for planning, design, build, QA, launch preparation, and iteration.
Company facts
Why we built x1
AI made it much easier to generate code and screens. But building a real app was never only about code. A product is a chain of decisions: who the user is, what the core flow should be, what data matters, how onboarding works, what should be paid, and how it should improve after launch.
Most AI app builders compress that into one prompt. That is fast, but fragile. x1 was built around a different belief: the future of app creation is not just faster generation. It is better structure.
“The prompt box is not the final interface for building software. It is a starting point. Real app creation needs memory, product decisions, design, QA, launch preparation, and a way to keep improving after the first version works.”
Manil Lakabi, Founder of x1
Our mission
Our mission is to help more people create real app businesses. Not just prototypes. Not just demos. Mobile products that can be tested, improved, launched, monetized, and evolved.
The next generation of app companies will be smaller, faster, and more founder-led. x1 exists to give those builders the workflow they would have had with a product team, mobile team, design team, QA process, and launch team inside software.
What we believe
The first prompt should not decide the whole product
A prompt is a starting point. It should not be the entire product process.
Builders need structure, not just speed
Fast generation is useful. Structure is what keeps a product from falling apart as it evolves.
Non-technical does not mean unserious
Some of the best app ideas come from people who know a user, market, or workflow deeply but do not want to become mobile engineers first.
AI should ask better questions
If a system does not understand what you mean, it should not pretend it does. It should ask.
Real products need memory
Every app needs a source of truth: what has been decided, what has been built, what changed, and what should not break.