Anything Secures $11M Funding, Revolutionizing AI-Powered App Development

Vibe coding Anything nabs a $100M valuation, after hitting $2M ARR in its first two weeks | TechCrunch

It's no secret that vibe coding -- using AI-powered coding tools to build apps and websites via natural language prompts -- is exploding in popularity. In July, Swedish vibe coding startup Lovable hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) just eight months after launch, plans to close the year at $250 million ARR and thinks it will hit $1 billion ARR within the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Replit said earlier this month that its ARR soared from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year. These companies' remarkable growth has fueled a wave of competitors, many of which are also quickly gaining momentum. "This is one of those spaces where every company is growing like a weed," said Nikhil Trivedi, co-founder and general partner at VC firm Footwork. However, despite their rapid growth, Trivedi argues that Lovable, Replit, and other vibe coding startups have a significant shortcoming: they excel at developing prototypes but struggle to enable users to launch production-ready software. The problem with most vibe coding companies, Trivedi argues, is that they don't provide all the infrastructure that non-technical users need to launch a functional product. Anything, an AI app launched a month ago, is attempting to solve this problem by offering all the tools - from databases to storage and payment functionality -- that users need to run businesses on the web or to send their vibe-coded creations to the App Store. The company's initial traction was explosive, reaching $2 million annualized run rate in just two weeks. Though the vibe coding market is crowded, the company's growth rate is so impressive that Trivedi knew he had to fund it. Anything announced on Monday that it has raised an $11 million financing round at a $100 million valuation, led by Footwork, with additional backing from Uncork, Bessemer, and M13. Co-founded by former Google colleagues Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, Anything is particularly designed to help non-technical people generate complete web and mobile applications. "You haven't really seen real businesses built on top of any of these tools," Amin said about other vibe coding companies. "We want to be the Shopify of the space, where people build apps that make money on top of us." Amin claims that users have already leveraged Anything to build fully functional applications available in the AppStore, including a habit tracker, a CPR training course, and a hair-style "try-on" app. Some of these apps are even starting to make money. These users, according to Amin, can finish their app in large part because they don't have to figure out how to set up and connect other essential tools to the prototype generated by the vibe coding app. The idea of developing a soup-to-nuts AI-assisted app builder came to Amin and Lowe a little under a year ago. The duo has been working together since 2021. Their first offering was a bootstrapped development marketplace that used AI coding tools in conjunction with human developers. But this was before the rise of LLMs. That business was generating about $2 million in annualized run rate, but it became clear that generative AI could soon deliver apps faster and at lower costs than their marketplace model. So, in 2023, they shut down that business and started working on developing an AI-powered app-building tool. They even raised some pre-seed and seed funding from Uncork and Bessemer Venture Partners along the way. Amin and Lowe noticed that most competitive tools, including Lovable and StackBlitz's Bolt, rely on the third-party database Supabase. They believed that they could differentiate Anything AI by building all the infrastructure in-house. That development took time, but it may turn out to be worth the effort because Anything is not the only startup in this market. It's not even the only one that's making a bet that offering all the backend tools can be a big growth driver. Other startups that are building big chunks of their own infrastructure include Mocha and Rork, the latter a company that claims to be on track to hit $10 million in ARR by the end of the year. But the intense competition doesn't faze Trivedi. "It seems there's enough demand out there for different types of app building products," he said.

Anything raises $11M for AI app building platform

AI startup Anything raises $11M at $100M valuation to power "vibe coding" with end-to-end app-building tools. AI app builder Anything secured an $11 million investment at a $100 million valuation. The company aims to provide end-to-end development tools for non-technical users, addressing a perceived gap in the expanding "vibe-coding" market. The field of "vibe coding," where users build software with AI tools via natural language prompts, is undergoing significant expansion. This is evidenced by the performance of key companies. In July, Swedish startup Lovable reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) eight months after its launch. The company projects closing the year at $250 million ARR and aims for $1 billion ARR within the next 12 months. Separately, Replit announced its ARR increased from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year. This rapid growth has spurred numerous competitors, creating a dynamic field. Nikhil Basu Trivedi, a general partner at VC firm Footwork, noted, "This is one of those spaces where every company is growing like a weed." He argues that these companies, including Lovable and Replit, share a significant shortcoming. While they excel at generating prototypes, they fall short of enabling users to launch production-ready software because they lack comprehensive infrastructure for a fully functional product. Anything, an AI application launched a month ago, was created to solve this problem. It offers an integrated suite of tools including databases, storage, and payment functionality, allowing users to move from concept to a published web or mobile app within one platform. This strategy addresses the gap left by other tools that require users to source and integrate their own backend services. The company's approach demonstrated immediate market fit, achieving a $2 million annualized run rate within its first two weeks. On Monday, Anything announced it has raised an $11 million financing round at a $100 million valuation. The investment was led by Footwork, with additional backing from Uncork, Bessemer, and M13. Basu Trivedi confirmed the company's initial growth rate was a critical factor in his firm's decision to lead the round despite market competition. The company was co-founded by former Google colleagues Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, who designed Anything to empower nontechnical people. Amin distinguishes their goal from that of competitors, stating, "You haven't really seen real businesses built on top of any of these tools." He elaborated on their ambition: "We want to be the Shopify of the space, where people build apps that make money on top of us." This vision frames the platform as a tool for entrepreneurship. Amin reports that users have already built and published functional applications on the App Store, including a habit tracker, a CPR training app, and a hairstyle "try-on" app, with some beginning to generate income. The idea for this comprehensive tool emerged less than a year ago. Amin and Lowe, partners since 2021, previously ran a development marketplace that combined AI tools and human developers, which generated around $2 million in ARR. They shut down that business in 2023, pivoting after realizing generative AI would soon offer faster, cheaper solutions. This pivot led to the development of an AI-powered app-building tool, for which they raised pre-seed and seed funding from Uncork and Bessemer Venture Partners. A central strategic decision was to build all backend infrastructure in-house. This was prompted by their observation that competitors, such as Lovable and StackBlitz's Bolt, relied on third-party databases like Supabase. They believed an in-house solution would be a key differentiator, even though it required more development time. Anything is not alone in this strategic direction; other startups like Mocha and Rork are also building their own infrastructure, with Rork projecting $10 million ARR by year-end. The intense competition does not concern Basu Trivedi. "It seems there's enough demand out there for different types of app-building products," he said, suggesting the market is large enough to accommodate various approaches and that Anything's integrated model is well-positioned.