What is Real Problem AI?

Real Problem AI is a curated directory of 200+ real problems worth building an AI startup around. Each problem is scored honestly on severity, AI feasibility, market signal, and competition gap. We're for builders looking for what to build, not for ethics debates about AI.

What is the difference between Real Problem AI and AI ethics or AI risks indexes?

Real Problem AI catalogues problems AI can solve — productive, commercial opportunities for builders. AI ethics indexes catalogue problems with AI itself (bias, environmental cost, copyright, consciousness). Different intent, different audience: founders and indie hackers vs researchers and policy folks.

What should I build with AI in 2026?

Look for problems with high severity (it costs people hours, sleep, or revenue every week), high AI feasibility (LLMs, vision or voice are great at this today), strong market signal (Reddit threads + willingness to pay), and a clear competition gap (incumbents miss the same obvious thing). Real Problem AI scores 200+ such problems for you on those four axes.

Where do Real Problem AI's startup ideas come from?

From three sources, scanned each cycle: 1) Reddit threads where people describe a real friction in their own words, 2) podcasts and talks of founders young builders trust (Nikhil Kamath, Aman Gupta, Ankur Warikoo, Raj Shamani, Andrej Karpathy, Greg Isenberg), and 3) a continuous 1,000+ source scan covering forums, app store reviews, regulator filings, and field interviews.

Is Real Problem AI free?

Yes. Browsing every problem, opening every score breakdown, raising your hand on a co-founder match, and the founder vault are all free. There is no paywall.

How is each problem scored?

Four axes, each 1-10, weighted: Problem Severity (30%), AI Feasibility (25%), Market Signal (25%), Competition Gap (20%). Weighted average is the Opportunity Score on each card. Only problems clearing 7.0+ make the live list.

Why can't a GLP-1 patient find which compounding pharmacy actually has tirzepatide in stock today?

After FDA shortage delisting in 2024 and 2025 compounding restrictions, semaglutide and tirzepatide patients ping 8 to 12 compounders a week by phone, and Hims, Ro, and Henry only push their captive pharmacy regardless of fill rate.

Category: HealthTech · Trend: Voice · Opportunity score: 9.3 / 10

What is the “Why can't a GLP-1 patient find which compounding pharmacy actually has tirzepatide in stock today?” problem in 2026?

Who has this problem?

Self-pay GLP-1 patient priced out of brand Wegovy or Zepbound.

Evidence this problem is real

“My compounder ran out of tirz again. I called 9 pharmacies yesterday, 3 do not take new patients, 2 are out, 1 wants a new telehealth visit. I just want one app that tells me who has it today and at what price.”

Sourced from r/Semaglutide, r/Mounjaro, r/tirzepatidecompound recurring "who has stock" threads.

Existing players in this space

Hims, Ro, Henry Meds — Captive pharmacy only, will not route elsewhere when their stock is out.
GoodRx — Brand drug pricing, does not cover compounders.
Mochi, Future Health — Tied to specific compounders.

What existing players are missing

A voice agent that calls the long tail of state-licensed 503A compounding pharmacies daily, captures live stock and pricing for semaglutide and tirzepatide, and routes the patient with a transferable script.

How Real Problem AI scores this opportunity

Aggregate score: 9.3 / 10. Four-axis rubric:

Problem severity: 9 / 10
AI feasibility today: 9 / 10
Market signal: 10 / 10
Competition gap: 9 / 10

How to build a solution: stack hints

Voice agent calling 503A pharmacies
State pharmacy board licensing database
Script transfer workflow with prescriber
Live stock and price feed