Why I'm NOT building another AI wrapper startup
October 23, 2025
As I search for a cofounder for
Remake.ai, I've been talking to founders of AI startups
that recently ran out of runway.
Surprisingly, many
of these startups had traction. In some cases, they had a
product–market fit.
What went wrong?
A lot
of these companies were AI wrappers — web apps wrapped around
online LLMs like ChatGPT or Anthropic.
Here are a few
AI wrapper type startup ideas:
"AI patent
attorney"
"AI financial advisor"
"AI
recruiter that ranks job applicants"
Need more
ideas? Prompt ChatGPT "Generate ideas for AI
startups."
The problem with AI wrapper startups
is - while they're easy to build, they often have no
competitive moat.
Let me give you a worked example.
Suppose I wanted to build PatentAnything.ai, an AI startup that
helps you patent anything, almost instantly.
PatentAnything.ai
takes your idea, checks if it's patentable, and—if it
is—writes the draft, adds drawings, handholds you through the
USPTO filing process and collects a convenience fee.
"Save
big on patent attorney fees! File your patent in minutes, before
someone else does!", PatentAnything.ai pitches to the
(apparently experienced) inventor.
If your idea is
NOT patentable, AI suggests creative ways to MAKE it patentable.
"Make your idea patentable using AI instantly!"
PatentAnything.ai pitches to the (apparently amateur wannabe)
inventor excited to and, hopefully, willing to pay the
convenience fee at the spur of the moment.
Here's
how I would build PatentAnything.ai:
Frontend in
Next.js
Backend calling OpenAI or Anthropic APIs
Stripe
API for payments
Hosted on Vercel with serverless
functions
All code generated by Claude Code from a
single prompt
That's a one-day MVP. But
that's also the point: if I can build it in a day, so can
someone else.
Disclaimer - PatentAnything.ai is a
trivialized example. You can build a competitive moat using
other methods. For example, you can clone Facebook technically
but never outcompete it due to Facebook's network effect
moat.
Lack of competitive moat makes businesses fail.
Importantly, one can build an AI wrapper, find traction, raise
capital and appear to be a successful startup - only to find
that your success has attracted copycats who compete with you on
price, changing your race to the top to a race to the bottom.
This
is why I'm building Remake.ai, NOT an AI wrapper
startup.
You may ask, why makes Remake.ai so special?
How is it different from AI wrappers? What is Remake.ai
competitive moat?
Answering this question may require
a separate post. I believe Remake.ai can be for consumer robots
what Apple is for smartphones.
Interested? Let's
talk more! Drop me a message.