AI coding tools unlock small software

Details

For decades, software development economics created a minimum viable project size: only products serving large enough markets could justify the cost of a development team. AI coding tools are dissolving that floor. Fast Company argues that as AI-assisted development approaches near-zero marginal cost, entire categories of small, specialized, or niche software that were previously unbuildable by individuals or tiny teams are becoming feasible. The implications go beyond productivity. This represents a structural shift in what software gets built — personal tools, hyper-local utilities, micro-SaaS products that serve hundreds rather than millions of users. The economics that previously filtered these ideas out no longer apply. The article's content is thin (lede only available from RSS); the full argument is behind Fast Company's paywall. The core thesis is well-established among practitioners but this piece signals it crossing into mainstream business press awareness.