“Chad: the Brainrot IDE” is a new product backed by Y Combinator that is so wild that people thought it was fake.

When former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt, someone in the audience asked him if HBO’s hit satirical movie “Silicon Valley” would be revived. Mr. Costolo, who was the show’s writer, basically said no (time stamp 38:17).

Writers talk about it regularly, he said, but haven’t pursued the actual Silicon Valley of today because it’s too bizarre to parody.

The latest example is a new company launched this week from Y Combinator called Clad Labs. Clad’s products are so innovative that in November people thought they were an April Fool’s joke.

But this is a real product, founder Richard Wang told TechCrunch. This product is called “Chad: the Brainrot IDE.” This is another Vibe coding integrated development environment (an IDE is the software that developers use to code), but with a twist. While waiting for the AI ​​coding tools to complete their tasks, developers can tinker with their favorite Brainrot activities within the IDE’s window.

Or, as the company’s website advertises, “Gamble while you code. Watch TikToks. Swipe on Tinder. Play minigames. We’re not kidding. This is the Chad IDE, solving the biggest productivity problem in AI-powered development that no one is talking about.”

The founders say their IDE improves productivity by assisting with “context switching.” Their argument is that by running Brainrot activities within the IDE itself, you can get back to work as soon as the AI ​​completes its task, without having to focus on your phone or browser.

Reactions regarding X were mixed. Some thought it was a false satire, while others thought it was a good or terrible idea.

Love it or hate it, everyone had an opinion, even Jordi Hayes, co-host of the passionately pro-tech podcast TBPN. Hayes wrote a post about the product titled, “Anger baiting is for losers.” In it, he says of the Chad IDE: “That’s interesting, but on the other hand, what are we doing here? Why does this belong on YC’s official account?”

He argued that products like Chad IDE and Cluely shift the fodder for outrage from marketing gimmicks to “product strategy” and that “that really shouldn’t be happening.” He urged YC to start teaching its founders that “anger-mongering is for losers.”

This is especially interesting advice from someone who learned viral marketing without getting angry as a founder. Hayes and his wife Sarah founded Party Round, a fundraising startup that made headlines for its friendly marketing gimmicks, including launching an NFT version of a top “helpful” VC. (Party Round was rebranded to Capital and sold to Rho in 2024.)

Wang told TechCrunch that what haters don’t understand about his Brainrot IDE is that it’s not meant to be outrage fodder. The founders hope this will become a truly beloved AI vibecoder for consumer app type developers. They want to give these people a consumer app-like experience in an IDE.

This product is genuine, but not yet available to the public.

“We are currently running a closed beta,” Wang said. Currently, Chad is trying to build a “community” of users who like this idea. Clad Labs hopes to make the product publicly available soon, but for now users must receive an invite from someone who is already in the beta.

There’s no doubt that there are certain types of developers who love Chad. But whatever the future holds for this product, one thing is for sure: It’s almost impossible to parody Silicon Valley these days.