One year after its founding, Stockholm-based AI coding platform Lovable is gaining traction, boasting nearly 8 million users and a rapid pace of development. CEO Anton Osika shared these figures during an interview at the recent Web Summit in Lisbon, painting a picture of explosive growth for the company that’s raised $228 million to date. According to Osika, 100,000 new products are being built on Lovable every day.
This surge comes after Lovable achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in June, marking a significant milestone. However, recent questions have emerged regarding the long-term viability of this “vibe coding” boom. Reports from Barclays and Google Trends indicate that user traffic to popular platforms like Lovable and Vercel’s v0 has declined since peaking earlier this year. This downturn raises concerns about whether the initial fervor surrounding AI-powered coding tools has already peaked, or if it’s merely a temporary lull before renewed interest.
Despite these challenges, Osika remains optimistic, highlighting Lovable’s strong user retention with net dollar retention exceeding 100%. He also points to expanding headcount – the company has recently crossed the 100-employee mark and is actively recruiting leadership from Silicon Valley to bolster its Stockholm headquarters.
Lovable’s journey began with GPT Engineer, an open-source tool built by Osika that gained widespread popularity among developers. Recognizing a larger opportunity to democratize software development for non-coders, Osika pivoted to establish Lovable, aiming to empower the 99% of individuals lacking coding expertise.
The platform has attracted a diverse user base: Fortune 500 companies utilize Lovable to enhance creativity, while individual users, like an 11-year-old in Lisbon who built a Facebook clone for his school, and Swedish entrepreneurs earning $700,000 annually from a seven-month-old startup founded on the platform, showcase its potential across demographics.
“It just works,” Osika states simply when describing user feedback, attributing this success to the design ethos originating from Sweden’s strong focus on intuitive interfaces.
Security remains a critical concern within the vibe coding sector. The recent incident involving an app built with vibe coding tools exposing 72,000 images, including GPS data and user IDs, highlights the potential vulnerabilities inherent in this technology. Osika acknowledges this challenge and emphasizes Lovable’s focus on bolstering security through rapid hiring of security engineers. While multiple security checks are now implemented before deployment, sensitive applications like banking software still require engagement with dedicated security experts, mirroring traditional development practices.
Osika adopts a collaborative stance when addressing the competitive landscape dominated by AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic, whose models underpin Lovable but have also launched their own coding agents. He views the market as large enough to accommodate multiple successful players, prioritizing Lovable’s mission of unlocking human creativity and agency through accessible development tools.
This open approach contrasts with the sometimes heated competition within the industry. Osika, despite engaging in light-hearted banter on social media with competitors like Replit’s Amjad Masad, emphasizes that his focus remains squarely on building the most user-friendly experience for humans.
Lovable envisions itself as “the last piece of software,” a comprehensive platform encompassing everything a product team needs – from understanding user feedback to deploying mission-critical features – within a single intuitive interface.
Osika exemplifies this ethos through Lovable’s philosophy of “demo, don’t memo.” Instead of lengthy presentations, employees can rapidly prototype ideas and test them with early adopters before committing substantial resources. This streamlines the development process and encourages iterative progress.
Despite the frenetic pace of growth and investor attention surrounding Lovable, Osika remains remarkably composed. Having transitioned from open-source developer to venture-backed founder within a year, he prioritizes fostering a healthy work environment in contrast to Silicon Valley’s often exhausting startup culture.
“What I care about is that everyone who’s at the company, they’re mission driven…They’re not working 12 hours, six days a week,” he states candidly, although he concedes that “although it’s a startup, so they’re probably working more than most jobs.” This focus on well-being within his rapidly expanding company underscores Lovable’s ambition to redefine not just how software is built but also the dynamics of the tech workplace.
