Is the Subscription Model Dead? The Era of Building Your Own with AI

Hello! I'm Kitchan, an IT instructor in Beppu.

Recently, the phrase "SaaS is Dead (the end of the subscription model)" has been whispered among investors.

Until now, it was taken for granted that you would "pay a monthly fee for convenient features", but did you know that this common sense is starting to crumble from the ground up?

In fact, I recently canceled a subscription service I had been using.

The reason is simple: "I was able to build it myself using AI."

A paradigm shift from "buying" to "building"

Currently, I am using AI agents to develop tools like the following for personal use:

AI English conversation and text-to-speech apps (like Shabetto)
360-degree VR web apps that run in the browser
A dedicated project submission platform for my classroom students

These are things that, in the past, would have required individual subscription contracts, costing thousands or even tens of thousands of yen per month in total.

Until just recently, I thought that was just "how things were" and paid for them.

However, the situation has changed completely.

The feeling of hiring a "super-talented engineer" for 2,900 yen a month

Right now, the core of my development environment is the AI agent Google Antigravity. Google Antigravity itself can be used for "free".

By combining this with Gemini, development proceeds with the feeling of hiring multiple "super-talented individuals" for about 2,900 yen per month. Since the free version hits limits quickly, I only pay for Gemini.

Of course, Antigravity and Claude Code require PC specs, and perhaps not everyone can master them starting today.

However, there are more accessible tools as well.

For example, Google AI Studio or Manus ai, which run entirely in the browser. Using these, you can build simple apps like your own personal "text-to-speech app" surprisingly easily.

"Tailoring tools to your own preferences, by yourself".

Once you experience this feeling, you cannot help but feel skeptical about continuing to pay for existing subscription services every month.

What I want to convey from the educational field in Oita

I run a programming school here in Beppu, Oita, and this change is a great hope for children's education as well.

Until now, literacy meant "how to master existing apps" for learning or work efficiency—things like corporate or school digital transformation.

But from now on, "how to build the tools you need together with AI" will be an essential skill.

From a small classroom in Beppu, world-class websites and apps can be born in 30 minutes. That scene is just around the corner.

Can't you build your subscriptions with AI?

If there is a service you keep subscribing to because it's "convenient for some reason", please try consulting with AI once.Of course, not all subscription services can be built.However, even at this stage, I was able to replicate my own company's website and simple apps.

"How can I build the same functionality as this by myself?"

Just by asking that, your fixed costs might drop dramatically, and at the same time, you might gain the "joy of creating".

The phrase "SaaS is Dead" is by no means pessimistic.

It is the signal for the dawn of an era where everyone can be a creator.

Thank you for reading until the end! I would be very happy if you could feel free to leave a like or a comment (opinions/impressions).