Using OSS models to build AI apps with millions of users — Hassan El Mghari
Jul 15, 2025 · 18:47
Hassan El Mghari, a software engineer at Together.ai, explains how he builds open source AI apps that attract millions of users, including roomGPT.io (2.9 million users), restorePhotos.io (1.1 million), Blinkshot.io (1 million visitors), and LlamaCoder.io (1.4 million visitors). He details his simple four-step tech stack: user input, a single API call to an open source model on Together.ai, storing results in a database, and displaying output. His process emphasizes keeping ideas simple enough to describe in five words, spending 80% of time on UI, launching early, and incorporating the latest models like Fluxionel for virality. He advises naming apps with short, memorable names, making them free and open source to encourage sharing, and iterating rapidly—most apps fail, but the key is to keep building. He funds compute through sponsorships from Together.ai and partners like Neon and Clerk, which provide free services for his open source projects.
