Lovable CEO Downplays Competition from 'Vibe Coding'

Every seat at Copenhagen’s Bella Center was occupied when Anton Osika, the co-founder of the vibe coding platform Lovable, stepped onto the stage at this year’s TechBBQ conference.

Lovable helps people build apps and websites, particularly those without any coding background. It stands out in the fast-growing AI field known as vibe-coding, which allows users to guide AI models in generating code, websites, or complete applications.

User adoption has been remarkable: Within just eight months, the Swedish firm reported exceeding $100 million in annual recurring revenue and secured a $200 million Series A at a $1.8 billion valuation—making it Europe’s fastest-growing unicorn. According to The Financial Times, investors are already pursuing a Series B round with proposals valuing the company at $4 billion. So far, Lovable hasn’t signaled any interest.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Osika outlined his vision for Lovable as the premier environment for software development: a platform that guides users—especially founders—through all phases of product creation, enabling them to establish AI-native companies with greater ease.

“Running a business involves numerous setup tasks, such as configuring payments, analyzing user behavior, and even handling company registration in the future,” he said. “I want Lovable to support all these functions.” 

In late June, Lovable introduced an agent that assists users in reading files, debugging issues, browsing the web, creating images, and locating documents—marking the first step in realizing that broader vision.

Lovable now serves over 2.3 million active users, including 180,000 paying subscribers. Osika explained that the company’s pricing strategy was designed primarily to cover operating costs. Some of his favorite use cases include a marketing professional developing a sales training platform and an engineer managing multiple small businesses through Lovable.

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“Previously, Lovable enabled users to create a quality initial draft. Now, they can build entire products—more like collaborating with an actual developer,” he noted. 

Although AI-generated code has faced criticism for being fragile and more suited for prototypes than final products, Osika remains unfazed. He emphasized that all code—whether written by AI or humans—should undergo review before going live.

Currently, Lovable runs on several foundational models, including Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT-5. This creates some friction, as both Anthropic and OpenAI offer their own development tools—Claude Code and Codex. While these aren’t identical to Lovable, it’s conceivable that either company could pivot strategically to attract Lovable’s user base.

Osika appears unperturbed so far. He told TechCrunch that Lovable remains committed to delivering the best possible product by integrating various AI providers, whereas individual model providers are limited to their own technologies.

“That gives us an advantage,” he explained, adding that leveraging multiple foundation models grants users “unparalleled capabilities” and allows the company to scale rapidly without maintaining redundant infrastructure.

“The range of possibilities keeps expanding,” he added. To stay ahead, he said the team zeroes in on three priorities: speed, security, and user-friendliness.

“If we keep delivering on these fronts, we’ll earn more customer trust than anyone else,” he stated. “It’s that straightforward.”

Just last month, Figma—a Lovable competitor in app design—had a spectacular IPO, reaching a $19.3 billion market cap on day one. When asked about Figma, Osika maintained that Lovable’s priority is refining its product for users.

“As long as we listen to our customers and address their needs, we're on the right path,” he commented.

Lovable is deeply rooted in the Swedish tech landscape. Osika, who grew up in Stockholm, founded the company there. Pitchbook data shows its investor roster includes prominent European firms and angel backers such as Stefan Lindeberg (Swedish, Nordic Game Ventures); Fredrik Hjelm (Swedish, founder of Guestit); Greens Ventures (Nordic); Hummingbird Ventures (London); and 20VC (London, founded by Harry Stebbings, who launched Project Europe to boost regional investment).

Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, based in Europe, is also an angel investor, as is Swedish entrepreneur Sebastian Siemiatkowski, whose company Klarna uses Lovable. Other notable customers include HubSpot and Photoroom.

Throughout the conference, investors and founders expressed enthusiasm about what Lovable’s continued presence means for the Nordic and broader European startup scene.

“The rise of Lovable and other European AI unicorns benefits the entire continent,” said Shamillah Bankiya, a principal at UK-based Dawn Capital. Although not an investor, her firm has tracked Osika’s progress and has backed other AI ventures through Dawn.

“Beyond the direct impact of employing thousands of Europeans, the broader influence is cultural,” she added. “It raises expectations for what ambitious founders throughout Europe can envision and accomplish.”

Osika confirmed that Lovable intends to keep its base in Europe, although it also has an office in Los Angeles. While many European tech firms eventually move to the U.S. for funding and market access, Osika currently doesn’t foresee that path for Lovable.

Inspired by Lovable’s journey, Osika has begun investing in other founders. Dennis Green-Lieber’s Danish consumer intelligence startup, Propane.ai, recently received funding from Osika as part of a $1.2 million seed round. Green-Lieber remarked that Lovable validates a common belief in the Nordic region: local talent can compete globally.

“We’ve had major players like Zendesk, Unity, Klarna, and Spotify over the last ten years, but Lovable demonstrates that with lean teams, a global outlook, and persistent effort, you can still create an industry-defining company,” he added. “As a founder, seeing this unfold in our own backyard has ignited a new level of ambition across our ecosystem.”