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Alex Johnson
Today on the podcast, I want to talk about a really interesting AI company, which is called Lovable, that has just reached unicorn status. They passed $1 billion in valuation doing something really interesting. Essentially, they help you create apps and websites with natural language. So you're talking to AI and they're able to help you actually create a tool. Now, there's some caveats, how useful this tool is, what it's actually capable of doing. I want to break that down just to go talk about a little bit about the hype versus the reality of the tool, what they're able to do, who invested. I'll go in the background and go in depth on level, because I do think this is a very interesting company that you should keep your eyes on and watch out for going into the future. Before I do, I wanted to mention if you've ever wanted to grow and scale your own personal business using AI tools like Lovable and so many others that I mentioned on this show, I'd love for you to try out the AI Hustle School community. Every single week. I post a video there that I don't post anywhere else, and I basically have a classroom where I have over 60 videos breaking down how I'm using AI tools to grow and scale my businesses. I share exact numbers, how much money I made from different things, what my costs were on different campaigns, everything that I'm doing. I talk about AI marketing, I talk about becoming an AI consultant, I talk about podcast growth hacks, AI content hacks, all sorts of really interesting things over there. So it's $19 a month. I would love to have you as a member. There's over 300 members, so it's got an awesome community of people building and doing things. They're all asking questions, sharing, and it's a great collaborative environment. So would love to have you as a member. There is a link in the description to the Hustle School community. But let's get back to what Lovable has finally has announced now that they're doing, now that they've reached $1 billion valuation, which in my mind is absolutely crazy. So they just did a Series A and it was $200 million. This is just eight months after they launched. So eight months later, they've raised $200 million. And a lot of this is just due to how much usage they have received. So it's Europe, it's based in Europe. It's a Swedish AI vibe coding startup. Basically, this was led by Accel. It's a $1.8 billion valuation. So they've Almost doubled. Doubled. Like they've all. It's not just Unicorn, like it's not border unicorn. This is almost $2 billion which is really impressive. So like Cursor or a lot of other companies essentially this helps developers to write code. You can build apps by using the coding and reasoning abilities of a lot of these AI models. It's based in Stockholm and so far it has been growing really fast. It has more than 2.3 million active users which is absolutely incredible. And these are basically using Lovables for free tier. So I think that's the most important thing is it's, there's a lot of users. Basically most of them are on the free tour. But their CEO recently, Anton, he was, he was doing this talk and he said that they do have over 180,000 paying subscribers. So there is a lot of people that are also paying for this, you know, 2 million for free, 180,000 paying. And they just reached an annual recurring revenue of about $75 million. They did that in seven months. So this is, you know, $10 million in annual recurring revenue a month. I'm going to give them some slack. I think that they're doing a fantastic job. So this is a series A round. It was, it had a bunch of, you know, people that had invested in the prior rounds in there. There was 20 VC by founders, credendum, Hummingbird, Visionary Club. So back in February Credendum actually led a $15 million pre series round to the company and back then it had about $17 million and 30,000 paying customers and then only spent $2 million at that point. So $2 million, 17 million in, in annual recurring revenue. Really impressive. And now of course they've grown this to over 180,000 users and $75 million so growing very, very fast. What's interesting is I think they're, they're doing all of this with basically 45 employees, full time employees that are, that are a pretty small lean team considering the outcome and what they've been able to accomplish here. Most of their traction has come from basically non technical users who are using it to create prototypes. They're using this to essentially, basically you're building like a prototype of like a website or an app or a tool and you give it to a developer who can build a more fleshed out version of that. The thing that I think is interesting about this is like I've done a lot of work with Adobe XD and Figma designing my own startup AI box and, and this is kind of interesting because it's a whole nother level where you're actually building a lot of the code that goes in the back end. Now a lot of them might just be like front end code and design how it looks. But that's so much more useful than giving a developer, in my opinion, a Figma design. Although there are some cool tools that help Figma convert to code. But giving them a Figma design versus giving them like, oh, here's like a thing I coded up. Go build the functionality, go make it work. But basically this is what I want. Like to me that's very, very cool. So there's this and then there's also tests which are a huge percentage of the 10 million projects that have been created on the platform to date. But Lovable right now is trying to become much more than that. This is kind of, I think the first step for them. They're only eight months old but they eventually are going to plan on making this so you can actually build production grade applications and you know, fully built out businesses and apps on the platform, which is, which is a big, which is a big task to do. So this is what their CEO said, he said every day brilliant founders and operators with game changing ideas hit the same wall. They don't have a developer to realize the vision quickly and easily. This is basically what they're trying to do. So one thing I did think that was interesting, their CEO, he was over on X and he said that he's now an angel investor in a software startup that was actually built on Lovable. So I think he's trying to show you, look, you can actually build serious companies with us. I think if you kind of dig into the background of what companies are on there. It seems like this might be an ad testing platform called Stardust that I was looking into a little bit. If you go to their website, it says that they're the first place winner at Build Launch Win, which was hosted by Lovable, eleven Labs, suvabase and Anthropic. So I think this is probably the company that he's specifically backed. Another interesting thing that he mentioned though is that uh, they're someone that built on their platform. There was an app made by a big Brazilian education company. They were using Lovable and he said that they passed $3 million in 48 hours with the tool that they use. I think this could help be a whole nother growth avenue and really help them get new customers, including I think Klarna and HubSpot and some other big customers. They've been able to get. So overall, very exciting to see what's happening with lovable excited about this company. I'll keep you up to date on everything they do to grow. If you're interested in growing and scaling your own business with AI tools, make sure to go check out the AI Hustle School community. There's a link in the description. I will catch you in the next episode and I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day.
The Joe Rogan Experience of AI
Release Date: July 23, 2025
In this episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience of AI," host Alex Johnson explores the meteoric rise of Lovable, an innovative AI company that has swiftly achieved unicorn status. The discussion delves into Lovable's groundbreaking approach to app and website creation, its impressive funding milestones, user base growth, and future aspirations in the AI landscape.
Lovable is a Stockholm-based AI startup specializing in enabling users to create applications and websites through natural language interactions. By leveraging advanced AI models, Lovable allows both technical and non-technical users to design prototypes and generate backend code seamlessly, bridging the gap between idea conception and functional development.
Notable Quote:
"Most of their traction has come from basically non-technical users who are using it to create prototypes."
— Alex Johnson (12:45)
Eight months post-launch, Lovable has secured an impressive $200 million in Series A funding, propelling its valuation to $1.8 billion. This rapid increase underscores significant investor confidence and the platform's potential in the AI-driven development sector. Leading this funding round were prominent venture capital firms such as Accel, Credendum, Hummingbird, and Visionary Club.
Notable Quote:
"They just did a Series A and it was $200 million. This is just eight months after they launched."
— Alex Johnson (03:30)
Lovable boasts a substantial user base of over 2.3 million active users, predominantly utilizing the free tier of the platform. Additionally, the company has successfully converted 180,000 users into paying subscribers, achieving an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately $75 million within seven months of launching. This equates to about $10 million in ARR monthly, highlighting the platform's effective monetization strategy despite the large number of free users.
Notable Quote:
"They have over 2.3 million active users and over 180,000 paying subscribers, reaching an ARR of about $75 million in seven months."
— Alex Johnson (07:15)
Lovable differentiates itself by enabling users to generate both frontend designs and backend code through natural language commands. Unlike traditional design tools like Figma or Adobe XD, which focus primarily on UI/UX design, Lovable facilitates the creation of functional code, allowing for a more integrated and efficient development process. This capability empowers users to produce production-ready applications and fully functional business tools without extensive technical expertise.
Furthermore, Lovable supports comprehensive testing, with a significant number of projects incorporating tests to ensure code reliability and functionality.
Notable Quote:
"Giving them like, here's a thing I coded up. Go build the functionality, go make it work. But basically this is what they want."
— Alex Johnson (10:50)
Looking ahead, Lovable aims to expand its platform to support the creation of production-grade applications and fully operational businesses. CEO Anton envisions Lovable as a pivotal tool for entrepreneurs and developers to realize their visions rapidly without the immediate need for extensive developer resources. The company plans to enhance its platform's capabilities to support more complex and scalable projects, positioning itself as an essential player in the AI-driven development ecosystem.
Notable Quote:
"Eventually are going to plan on making this so you can actually build production-grade applications and fully built out businesses and apps on the platform."
— Alex Johnson (15:40)
Anton, the CEO of Lovable, has personally invested in startups built on the Lovable platform, exemplifying his commitment to fostering innovation within the community. One such venture, Stardust, an ad testing platform, won first place at the Build Launch Win competition, showcasing the practical applications and success potential of projects developed on Lovable.
Additionally, a notable success story involves a Brazilian education company that generated $3 million in 48 hours using Lovable's tools. Such achievements not only demonstrate Lovable's efficacy but also serve as powerful testimonials to attract major clients like Klarna and HubSpot.
Notable Quote:
"He's now an angel investor in a software startup that was actually built on Lovable."
— Alex Johnson (18:25)
Despite its rapid growth and substantial user base, Lovable operates with a lean team of 45 full-time employees. This efficiency underscores the company's ability to scale effectively using advanced AI tools and streamlined processes, maximizing productivity while minimizing overhead.
Notable Quote:
"They're doing all of this with basically 45 employees, a pretty small lean team considering the outcome."
— Alex Johnson (09:05)
Alex Johnson expresses enthusiasm for Lovable's trajectory, highlighting the company's impressive achievements in a short period. With a robust funding backing, a growing user base, and an innovative approach to AI-driven development, Lovable is poised to make significant strides in the tech industry. Johnson commits to keeping the audience informed about Lovable's future developments and encourages listeners to stay tuned for more insights.
Notable Quote:
"It's very exciting to see what's happening with Lovable; excited about this company."
— Alex Johnson (20:10)
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the podcast episode, providing an informative overview for those who haven't listened to the full conversation.