Manil Lakabi

Manil Lakabi

CEO

Manil Lakabi is the Founder + Engineer of x1, a YC-backed AI app studio that helps people build real native iOS apps from the web.

Before starting x1, Manil worked at Scale AI, Meta, and LinkedIn. He has also written about reinforcement learning, AI agents, and AI SDR Bench, with a focus on making AI systems more reliable in real-world workflows.

On the x1 blog, Manil writes about AI, product building, app design, startups, and the future of software creation.

Articles by Manil Lakabi

Enabling the era of the One-Person Unicorn
LaunchMay 13, 2026

Enabling the era of the One-Person Unicorn

AI is collapsing the size of the software company. The next great app company may be one person with taste, distribution, and an AI-native operating system.