---
title: "Carl Pei: smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take over"
description: "Nothing's CEO said at SXSW that the future isn't AI using apps, but AI that understands your long-term goals."
url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/carl-pei-apps-will-disappear-ai-agents
language: en # English
type: news
published: 2026-03-18T20:30:00.000Z
updated: 2026-11-02T02:45:53.000Z
author: "Osamah Ismail"
author_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/author/1
section: "Mobile"
tags: ["Nothing","Carl Pei","AI agents","SXSW"]
sources: ["TechCrunch","SXSW"]
image: https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/carl-pei-nothing-9c371626.jpg
translations:
  ku: https://kurddevelopers.com/news/carl-pei-apps-will-disappear-ai-agents
  ar: https://kurddevelopers.com/ar/news/carl-pei-apps-will-disappear-ai-agents
publisher: Kurd Developers
publisher_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/
---

# Carl Pei: smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take over

> Nothing's CEO said at SXSW that the future isn't AI using apps, but AI that understands your long-term goals.

![Carl Pei. Image: Nothing](https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/carl-pei-nothing-9c371626.jpg)

## What did he say?

Nothing CEO Carl Pei said at SXSW in Austin: "apps are going to disappear."

In his view, agents that just execute commands, like booking a flight, are "super boring." The next step is an AI that learns your long-term intentions and offers nudges on its own.

Pei said: "The future is not the agent using a human interface."

## When?

Pei says apps aren't going away in the near term. But Nothing OS already lets users "vibe code" small apps with AI.

## Nothing and AI

Nothing raised $200 million in 2025 on the pitch of an AI-first device.

**Sources:** TechCrunch, SXSW

---

Published by [Kurd Developers](https://kurddevelopers.com/) on 2026-03-18. Cite as: “Carl Pei: smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take over”, Kurd Developers, https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/carl-pei-apps-will-disappear-ai-agents