Vibe-Coding Startup Lovable Hits $13 Billion Valuation
New funding round catapults AI company into the ranks of Europe’s most valuable startups
- Artificial-intelligence startup Lovable raised $400 million in a new funding round that values the company at $13.3 billion.
- The funding round was co-led by Silicon Valley investor Menlo Ventures and the European Commission’s Scaleup Europe Fund.
- Lovable plans to use the capital to expand its workforce by 50% to 450 employees this year and fuel growth in regions such as Latin America.
Artificial-intelligence startup Lovable has raised fresh funds at a $13.3 billion valuation, highlighting investor enthusiasm for vibe-coding tools.
Launched in November 2024, the Stockholm-based company’s AI platform allows users to create software and web applications using simple, everyday language.
Lovable raised $400 million in the new fundraising, the company and its investors said. The deal values Lovable at more than double the $6.6 billion level it achieved in December, and catapults the business into the ranks of Europe’s most valuable startups.
The funding round was co-led by Silicon Valley investor Menlo Ventures and the European Commission’s newly created Scaleup Europe Fund—a vehicle overseen by Swedish asset manager EQT that aims to support the region’s startups.
Other backers include Balderton Capital, World Innovation Lab and China’s Tencent.
Lovable plans to use the money to fund expansion. The company aims to grow its workforce by 50% to 450 this year across its offices in Europe and the U.S., as well as fuel growth in regions such as Latin America. It is also working to add more security features and improve reliability.
Lovable’s platform can be used to develop tools for a range of business functions, including managing human resources, sales and finance departments. Some startup founders now run their entire businesses on software built with Lovable, said Anton Osika, the company’s chief executive and co-founder.
The startup is on track to generate a revenue run rate—a figure commonly used by startups that forecasts annual revenue based on short-term sales—of close to $600 million by the end of this month. That is nearly triple the level it disclosed in December. The company has previously been profitable but is now focused on investing in its product and growth, Osika said.
Clients include chip company Nvidia, which uses the platform to develop customized software for its team leaders to keep track of projects and ensure they are delivered on time. Other corporate users include sportswear company Adidas, publisher Hearst and software-as-a-service provider Zendesk.
The growing use of AI to develop in-house apps has raised investor concerns that products developed by business-software companies could become obsolete in a so-called “SaaSpocalypse.”
Despite using Lovable itself, helpdesk software provider Zendesk doesn’t see it as a threat. “Lovable can’t provide the level of reliability at scale” to manage customer requests across different channels, said Jorge Luthe, a senior director of product.
Lovable operates in a competitive environment. Rivals include California-based Replit, which achieved a $9 billion valuation in a March funding round—triple the level it hit six months prior.
Following the latest fundraising, Lovable will be Menlo’s largest single investment after Anthropic—“a testament to how bullish we are on Lovable’s outlook,” said Matt Murphy, one of the firm’s partners.
For the EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund, the investment will be an early test of the fund’s ability to not only support the region’s startups but persuade them to resist moving to the U.S. as they grow.
If startups like Lovable end up being backed predominantly by U.S. investors, “the shift towards relocating headquarters or listing in the U.S. becomes powerful,” undermining development of cutting edge technology in Europe, said EQT partner Victor Englesson.