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> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Three archetypes for post‑LLM builders
- URL: https://www.chrismessina.me/blog/code-as-commodity/
- Published: 2025-12-16T21:11:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-23T03:26:59.000Z
- Description: Observations on software development since I hunted ChatGPT in 2022
- Author: Chris Messina
- Tags: generative ai, software development, product strategy, artificial intelligence, vibe coding, Newsletter, #Migrated-1774236383925, #Import 2026-03-22 20:26

I wrote a [long essay](https://medium.com/p/b9b7492dc4eb?ref=chrismessina.me) following [a talk I gave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ciMeRQHEk&ref=chrismessina.me) at [AI DevCon](https://ainativedev.io/devcon?ref=chrismessina.me) in Brooklyn last month.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9e/8a/9e8a2c1f-873d-44c9-8c06-57c515181f44/content/images/2026/03/73f09953-119f-4428-94a7-f455d494daf5_2500x1221-1.png)

[Read essay](https://blog.chrismessina.me/code-as-commodity-b9b7492dc4eb?ref=chrismessina.me)

It starts out with an anecdote about hunting ChatGPT in December 2022 and goes on to explore what I think will be necessary to thrive as **code becomes a commodity**:

> *In December 2022, I hunted* [*ChatGPT*](https://www.producthunt.com/products/chatgpt/launches/chatgpt?ref=chrismessina.me) *on Product Hunt.* 
>  
> *It ranked #1 product of the day, then the week, and went on to be named Product of the Year.* 
>  
> *Having co-founded a YC-backed conversational AI startup in 2018 (long before LLMs) — I recognized in ChatGPT the missing ingredient that would have made that venture viable.* 
>  
> *The future we’d anticipated had arrived. I could revisit my old problem, or I could expand my area of potency by raising and deploying my own venture capital fund.* 
>  
> *I chose the latter.* 
>  
> *Three years later, on* [*December 9th*](https://www.producthunt.com/leaderboard/daily/2025/12/9?ref=chrismessina.me)*, I watched a 24-hour window on Product Hunt cross 500 launches — roughly double what I observed throughout the preceding 825 days. Only 13 were featured; most were unremarkable.* 
>  
> *The LLM has fundamentally shifted the economics of software development.* 
>  
> *As someone with a dual vantage point — being the* [*#1 Product Hunter*](https://www.producthunt.com/@chrismessina?ref=chrismessina.me) *while* [*investing in AI startups*](https://www.ridehomefund.com/ai-fund?ref=chrismessina.me) *— I watch the floodwaters rise in real-time.* 
>  
> *What’s become clear: SaaS is dying; VC is withering³. Building software is not uniquely compelling. Code has become a commodity.* 
>  
> *What most people miss about commoditization is that when a product or resource becomes abundant, it doesn’t just get cheaper. It unlocks new and previously uneconomic uses.*

[Give it a read](https://blog.chrismessina.me/code-as-commodity-b9b7492dc4eb?ref=chrismessina.me) and let me know if this resonates with what you’re seeing…

[Read essay](https://blog.chrismessina.me/code-as-commodity-b9b7492dc4eb?ref=chrismessina.me)

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