Introduction
Lovable, the Stockholm-based AI coding platform, is approaching 8 million users, marking exponential growth just one year after its founding. CEO Anton Osika revealed that the platform generates over 100,000 new software products daily, demonstrating the explosive rise of the "vibe coding" phenomenon transforming how people without programming skills create applications.
Founded in 2023 as an evolution of the open source GPT Engineer project, Lovable has already raised $228 million in total funding, with a valuation reaching $1.8 billion in the $200 million round closed in summer 2024. Recent rumors suggest new investors might value the company at up to $5 billion, though Osika stated the company isn't capital constrained at the moment.
Meteoric growth in the AI coding market
Lovable is an AI-powered software development platform that enables anyone to create complete web applications through simple natural language instructions. The company has made an impressive leap from 2.3 million active users in July 2024 to nearly 8 million today, demonstrating a growth trajectory with few precedents in the technology sector.
Over half of Fortune 500 companies already use Lovable to "supercharge creativity" within their teams, according to Osika's statements at the Web Summit in Lisbon. The user base comprises a heterogeneous mix ranging from eleven-year-old children creating Facebook clones for their schools to Swedish entrepreneurs generating $700,000 annually from startups launched on the platform just seven months ago.
The company reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in June 2024, a significant milestone for such a young startup. The business model relies on a combination of free and premium tiers, with net retention exceeding 100%, indicating users tend to increase their spending over time.
From open source to the no-code AI revolution
Lovable's story begins with GPT Engineer, an open source tool created by Anton Osika that went viral in the developer community. However, the thirty-something particle physicist and former first employee at AI company Sana Labs quickly realized the biggest opportunity wasn't serving the remaining 1% of professional programmers, but democratizing software development for 99% of the world's population.
"I woke up a few days after building GPT Engineer and I realized we're going to reimagine how you build software. I biked to my co-founder's place, and I said, I have this great idea. I woke him up."
Anton Osika, CEO and Founder of Lovable
This vision led to creating a platform Osika describes as designed with "Swedish design sensibility," focused on intuitive user experience. The stated goal is building "the last piece of software" needed: a platform where everything a product organization needs, from understanding users to deploying mission-critical features, can be accomplished through a simple interface.
Challenges and critical issues of vibe coding
Despite impressive numbers, the vibe coding sector faces questions about growth sustainability. Research from Barclays in summer 2024 and Google Trends data showed traffic to some of the buzziest services, including Lovable and Vercel's v0, declined after peaking earlier in the year. According to Barclays analysts, traffic to Lovable was down 40% as of September 2024.
Security represents another critical aspect. A recent incident saw an app built with vibe coding tools leak 72,000 images, including GPS data and user IDs. Osika acknowledged the problem, stating the fastest-hiring area of the engineering organization concerns security engineers specifically.
The platform now runs multiple security checks before deployment, with the stated goal of making development with Lovable "more secure than building with just human-written code." However, for sensitive applications like banking apps, Lovable still requires users to hire security experts, exactly as they would with traditional development.
Competition and market strategy
Lovable finds itself competing not only with similar platforms like Replit but also with AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, whose models power Lovable itself but which have released their own coding agents. Osika adopts a pragmatic and collaborative stance, viewing the market as large enough to accommodate multiple winners.
The company has surpassed 100 employees and is importing leadership talent from San Francisco to strengthen its Stockholm headquarters. Osika's philosophy diverges from Silicon Valley's intensifying hustle culture, instead emphasizing a mission-driven approach with attention to work-life balance, while acknowledging the inevitable pressures of a rapidly growing startup.
The concept of "demo, don't memo," popular among product leaders, captures how companies currently use Lovable: employees can quickly prototype ideas instead of writing long presentations, test them with early users before committing significant resources.
Conclusion
Lovable represents an emblematic case of the transformation artificial intelligence is bringing to software development. With nearly 8 million users and 100,000 new applications created daily, the platform demonstrates real demand exists for tools that democratize software creation.
However, significant challenges remain: from growth sustainability to security, from increasing competition to the need to maintain product quality while scaling rapidly. Long-term success will depend on Lovable's ability to balance accessibility with reliability, innovation with responsibility, and growth with operational sustainability.
For technology sector observers, Lovable offers an early glimpse of how AI might redefine not only who can build software, but also how organizations approach product innovation in the near future.
FAQ
What is Lovable and how does the AI coding platform work?
Lovable is an AI-powered software development platform that enables creating complete web applications using natural language instructions, without requiring traditional programming skills.
How many users has Lovable reached in 2024?
Lovable is approaching 8 million users, with exponential growth from 2.3 million in July 2024, and generates over 100,000 new applications every day.
Is Lovable secure for developing enterprise AI coding applications?
Lovable runs multiple security checks before deployment, but for sensitive applications like banking apps still recommends hiring security experts, as with traditional development.
Which companies use Lovable for AI coding development?
Over half of Fortune 500 companies use Lovable to supercharge team creativity and accelerate software product prototyping.
How does Lovable differ from other AI coding platforms?
Lovable focuses on intuitive user experience with Swedish design, allowing anyone to create functional software by simply describing what they want to build.
What is Lovable's business model?
Lovable uses a freemium model with free and premium tiers, reached $100 million in ARR in June 2024, and maintains net retention exceeding 100%.
Is AI vibe coding sustainable long-term?
While some data shows traffic declines after initial peaks, Lovable reports strong user retention and continued growth, suggesting real demand for accessible AI coding tools.
Who founded Lovable and what is its history?
Lovable was founded by Anton Osika, former particle physicist and creator of the viral open source project GPT Engineer, based in Stockholm with $228 million in funding.