Wix Buys AI Startup Base44 for $80M, Just Six Months After Launch
In a stunning deal that’s turning heads across the tech world, Israeli AI startup Base44 has been acquired by Wix for $80 million in cash—only six months after its launch.
Founded by Maor Shlomo, a well-known figure in Israel’s startup ecosystem, Base44 skyrocketed from a side project into a profitable no-code platform that lets anyone build apps using plain text prompts.
From Side Hustle to Multi-Million Dollar Exit
Initially started as an experiment in “vibe coding”—a growing movement where users create software with little or no traditional programming—Base44 attracted over 250,000 users and generated $189,000 in monthly profits by May 2025.
The company relied heavily on word-of-mouth and transparency. Shlomo, 31, shared development milestones, earnings, and even large language model (LLM) token costs on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
Though not a literal “solo founder” venture, Base44 had just eight employees, who will reportedly receive $25 million in retention bonuses under the Wix deal.
“Base44 is a moonshot—helping everyone, technical or not, build software without coding at all,” Shlomo wrote when he launched the platform.
What Made Base44 Unique
Base44 allows users to describe an app in natural language, and the AI builds the full backend—database, authentication, analytics, storage, and even messaging. With advanced integration features, it’s one of the most complete no-code platforms to emerge recently.
Though similar platforms exist, Base44’s speed of adoption and profitability in under half a year is rare. Its performance also caught the attention of eToro, Similarweb, and Amazon, the latter inviting Shlomo to demo Base44 at a Tel Aviv AWS event after he publicly favored Anthropic’s Claude over OpenAI models due to better cost-efficiency.
Why Wix Made the Move
For Wix, known globally for its user-friendly website builder, the acquisition is strategic. Base44 adds a powerful AI-powered application builder to its portfolio.
Unlike other major LLM startups commanding billion-dollar valuations—like OpenAI’s $3B acquisition of Windsurf—Wix snagged Base44 early, recognizing its long-term value while still affordable.
“The scale we need isn’t something we can reach organically,” Shlomo said. “But with Wix, we now have the resources to move at full speed.”
Shlomo previously co-founded Explorium, a data analytics firm backed by Insight Partners, while his brother recently launched Token Security, an AI security startup that raised $20 million.
Though Base44 may not have reached unicorn status, its trajectory is a sign of things to come: lean, AI-driven startups scaling fast and exiting big—even before their first birthday.https://www.tiktok.com/@pj00les/video/7519147390037806350
