Why Are Non-engineers Building Software in 2026?

Paul Copplestone says builders are coming online in 2026, including people without a software engineering background, because the models are getting so good at building. Signups are accelerating, and activation and conversion are rising at the same time.

Faster signups usually bring a decline in activation and conversion. In 2026 signups, activation, and conversion are all going up and to the right. Software engineers still make up a huge portion of users, but the builder segment is growing fast.

Early investors said growth would tap out at a revenue level and he would have to move into another segment of the market. There appears to be no ceiling so far, and he cannot see where it stops. The tap-out call was basically true two years ago or one year ago, and it is definitely not true in 2026.