A Single-Owner, Bootstrapped AI Startup Gets Acquired for $80 Million

Wix, an Israeli software company that helps users build websites, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Base44, a startup, for $80 million. 

Base 44 provides an AI-enabled no-code platform that lets users create applications using natural language prompts. 

Notably, Base44’s founder, Maor Shlomo, is the sole owner of the startup and does not have any external venture funding. He also revealed in a post on X that Base44 is profitable and earned $189k in profit last month. 

The platform, which was started nine months ago, reportedly has 2.5 lakh users and has only six employees. Recently, Shlomo announced that Base44 is launching a Teams plan targeting B2B customers.

“I honestly can’t think of a better fit. Wix is probably the only company that can help Base44 achieve the scale and distribution it needs while maintaining, if not accelerating, our product velocity,” he added. 

“Our market is massive. It has the potential to replace entire software categories by enabling people to create software instead of buying it,” he added. 

The acquisition of Base44 highlights the growing market for no-code platforms. Building apps using natural language, also known as ‘vibe coding', is helping founders and developers quickly turn their creations into revenue. 

Recently, Anton Osika, co-founder of a similar platform called Lovable, said that a Brazilian ed-tech startup used it to build a premium version of its app and earned $3 million in just 48 hours.