Revolutionary AI App Builder, Anything, Aims to Solve Vibe Coding Shortcomings and Become the Next Shopify in App Development
The surge in popularity of vibe coding, powered by AI to create apps and websites using natural language prompts, is undeniable. This year alone, several startups have experienced exponential growth in this sector.
For instance, Lovable, a Swedish company, reached an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $100 million just eight months after its launch, with plans to end the year at $250 million ARR and aiming for $1 billion within the next 12 months. Similarly, Replit reported a surge in ARR from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year.
This rapid growth has spurred a flurry of competitors, many of which are gaining momentum rapidly. Nikhil Trivedi, co-founder and general partner at VC firm Footwork, describes this industry as one where every company is growing at an exceptional rate.
However, while these companies excel in prototyping, Trivedi highlights a significant shortcoming: they lack the infrastructure necessary for non-technical users to launch production-ready software. Most vibe coding companies, he explains, do not offer all the tools that users need to run functional products online or to publish their creations on app stores.
To address this issue, Anything, an AI app launched a month ago, is providing a comprehensive suite of tools, including databases, storage, and payment functionality, enabling users to run businesses on the web or to publish their vibe-coded applications on app stores. The company achieved explosive initial traction, reaching a $2 million annualized run rate in just two weeks.
Despite the crowded market, Anything’s growth rate is so impressive that Trivedi decided to fund it. On Monday, Anything announced 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 designed to help non-technical individuals create complete web and mobile applications. According to Amin, users have already built fully functional applications available on app stores using Anything, including a habit tracker, a CPR training course, and a hair-style “try-on” app. Some of these apps are even starting to generate revenue.
Users find it easier to complete their application because they don’t need to configure and connect other essential tools to the prototype generated by the vibe coding app. The concept of developing an all-inclusive AI-assisted app builder came to Amin and Lowe about a year ago. They have been working together since 2021, and their first offering was a bootstrapped development marketplace that combined AI coding tools with human developers. However, they pivoted to building an AI-powered app-building tool after the rise of LLMs, shutting down their previous business in 2023.
While competition is intense in this market, Anything and other startups betting on offering all the backend tools believe it can drive significant growth. Other companies investing heavily in developing their own infrastructure include Mocha and Rork, the latter aiming to hit $10 million in ARR by the end of the year.
Despite intense competition, Trivedi remains optimistic about the demand for different types of app-building products.
