Base44 builds its OWN AI model to stop depending on the giants

Base44, a Wix-owned 'vibe coding' platform, launches Base1 — its in-house AI to reduce reliance on giants like Opus.

Base44, now part of Wix, unveils its own AI model called Base1, signaling independence from tech giants. Base1 was trained on tens of millions of real user interactions, making it uniquely tailored to its platform.

Base1 is designed to outperform frontier models in terms of cost, speed, and efficiency. Wix invested $80 million in Base44 just six months after its founding, recognizing its potential.

In just under a year, Base44 reached $150 million in annual recurring revenue, showcasing its rapid growth. While rivals like Lovable reached $500 million ARR, Base44 continues to grow at an impressive rate.

Owning the AI model makes it faster and cheaper for customers than using frontier models like Opus. What if more startups follow this path?

Key facts

• Base44, a "vibe coding" platform owned by Wix, launched its own in-house AI model called Base1.
• Vibe coding lets people build apps with plain natural language instead of writing code.
• Base1 was trained on tens of millions of real user interactions on the platform, and is meant to beat frontier models on cost, speed, and efficiency.
• Wix bought Base44 for $80 million in June 2025, when it was six months old with just eight employees; by May 2026 it hit $150 million in annual recurring revenue.
• Rival Lovable hit $500 million ARR in June 2026.
• Founder Maor Shlomo: owning the model makes it "faster and cheaper for customers eventually than using frontier models like Opus."
• It signals AI startups racing to own their core tech instead of renting it.

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