Base44 just made startup history.
Israeli developer Maor Shlomo built and sold his AI-powered vibe coding startup, Base44, to Wix for a massive $80 million—and he did it without raising a single dollar in funding.
Yes, you read that right. One founder. No investors. One idea. And six months of execution.
A Startup Born from a Side Hustle
Shlomo started Base44 in January as a side project. It promised something bold—building apps using natural language, no coding skills required.
Within three weeks, Base44 had 10,000 users. All from word of mouth.
The tool tapped into the rise of “vibe coding”—a term used for this new era of AI-assisted, creative software building. It lets users explain what they want, and the platform makes it happen.
By June, Base44 hit 250,000 users and was pulling in $189,000 in monthly profit.
1/ Base44 is being acquired by Wix.
There’s a lot I’d like to share –
probably more than what fits in a single post.Here are some thoughts, in no particular order 🧵
(picture below – Base44’s early days :)) pic.twitter.com/SXMZR2SL5j— Maor Shlomo (@MS_BASE44) June 18, 2025
No VCs, Just Vision
Shlomo bootstrapped the entire business. He owned 100% of the company.
When Wix came knocking with $80M in cash, the only people he needed to consult were his eight employees—who will now split $25 million in bonuses from the deal.
That’s the kind of loyalty every founder dreams of rewarding.
Wix + Base44 = No-Code Powerhouse
Wix, a giant in DIY website building, saw Base44 as the perfect fit. The plan is to integrate the platform into Wix’s own tools, making it easier for users to build custom apps without needing to code.
Shlomo, now joining Wix post-acquisition, called it the “best possible partner” to scale his vision.
With early partnerships from companies like eToro and Similarweb, Base44 was already showing it could handle big demand.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just another tech acquisition. It’s a clear signal that the solo founder unicorn is real.
Leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have long predicted this—AI lowers the barrier to entry so much that one person can now do the work of a team.
Base44 is living proof. And it won’t be the last.
Startups are no longer built in garages. They’re built in VS Code, Slack, and Notion—by people who know how to ride the AI wave.
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