The New Application Layer - Malte Ubl, CTO Vercel
Apr 20, 2026 · 18:52
Vercel CTO Malte Ubl argues that AI engineering is the legitimate successor to web development and that the real value lies in the application layer, not the model labs. He identifies four effective agent archetypes—24/7 support, compressed research, surfacing existing information, and eliminating boring work—and reveals that over 60% of vercel.com page views now come from AI agents. Ubl predicts model companies will commoditize, driving costs down and empowering engineers, while citing Europe's leadership in AI engineering through Vercel's AI SDK, Pi (a coding agent from Austria), and OpenClaw. He stresses the need for open-mindedness toward paradigm shifts and new infrastructure, such as sandboxed agent runtimes, and warns of impending security challenges.
