There’s a growing buzz in the startup ecosystem about how artificial intelligence can boost individual productivity, potentially leading to a new wave of “solo unicorns.” These are one-person companies valued at over $1 billion.
While we have yet to see a true solo unicorn, Israeli developer Maor Shlomo recently demonstrated that it might be within reach.
He sold his startup, Base44, which focuses on vibe coding and was only six months old, to Wix for a substantial $80 million, as confirmed by Wix in their announcement.
Although this sale didn’t hit the billion-dollar mark, it’s still impressive. It’s important to note that Shlomo was not entirely alone in this venture; he had a team of eight employees.
Wix revealed that these employees would share $25 million from the sale as a retention incentive, though details about the conditions for receiving the full amount remain unclear.
Despite not being a billion-dollar deal, the swift growth and sale of Base44 have captured the attention of the vibe-coding community.
In just six months, the startup amassed around 250,000 users, achieving 10,000 users within the first three weeks. Shlomo shared on social media that the company turned a profit of $189,000 in May, even after accounting for significant costs associated with large language models.
Base44 gained traction primarily through word-of-mouth marketing, with Shlomo, a 31-year-old programmer, documenting his journey on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. He mentioned that the project started as a side project, as reported by an Israeli tech news outlet.
Shlomo described Base44 as an ambitious experiment aimed at enabling anyone, regardless of technical skill, to create software without any coding knowledge. He shared this vision when he first introduced the platform to the public.
The startup is part of a new wave of vibe-coding tools aimed at non-programmers. Users simply provide text prompts, and the platform generates complete applications, including databases, storage, authentication, analytics, and integrations.
It also offers features like email, messaging, and maps, with plans to enhance security for enterprise users in the future.
Base44 is not the only player in this space; other vibe coding platforms, such as Adaptive Computer, are working on similar solutions. However, the rapid success of Base44 has been remarkable.
Shlomo was already recognized in the Israeli tech scene due to his previous venture, Explorium, a data analytics company backed by Insight Partners.
He also has a brother who co-founded an AI security startup called Token Security, which recently raised $20 million from Notable Capital and various Israeli tech investors.
He quickly formed partnerships with major Israeli tech firms like eToro and Similarweb for Base44.
After deciding to utilize Anthropic’s Claude LLM via AWS instead of OpenAI’s models, primarily for cost-efficiency, Amazon invited Base44 to showcase its product at an AWS event in Tel Aviv last month, an experience Shlomo documented online.
Reflecting on his journey, Shlomo described it as a “crazy” experience when he announced the acquisition.
Despite the company’s profitability and growth, he decided to sell it because he felt that the scale required for further expansion was beyond what they could achieve on their own.
He expressed excitement about the new opportunities that would come with Wix’s resources.
Wix acquired a fast-growing, successful vibe-coding platform for a relatively low price considering its young age. In comparison, OpenAI recently spent $3 billion on another startup, Windsurf, which was established in 2021.
Wix is known for its no-code website building tools that produce professional-looking designs, so adding a profitable vibe-coding product aligns well with their business strategy.
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