Lovable raised $200M, Beehiiv Revenue hit $30M
Speed compounds
Just moments ago, Vibe Coding startup Lovable announced its $200 million Series A round, valuing the company at $1.8 billion. The round was led by Accel, with participation from 20VC, byFounders, Creandum, Hummingbird, and Visionaries Club.
Ben Fletcher, partner at Accel, said that Lovable is designed for the 99% of people who previously had no opportunity to build products.
The Lovable team has recently grown to 45 people, with 2.3 million active users and over 180,000 paying users. Notably, 3% of Lovable’s users are from France, including 9,000 paying French users.
On the revenue side, Lovable’s ARR is estimated to have reached $90 million, and it likely won’t be long before it surpasses $100 million, becoming the next Vibe Coding product after Replit to hit that milestone — a growth trajectory reminiscent of Replit’s rocketship rise from $10 million to $100 million ARR in just 6 months.
Lovable’s founder Anton Osika recently shared that over 100,000 startups are launched on Lovable every month, and in June alone, users created 2.5 million websites using Lovable — accounting for over 10% of all new websites on the internet that month. He also mentioned that he has started angel investing in startups building with Lovable.
The competition in the AI coding space is heating up, with acquisitions and talent wars already underway. On the acquisition front, Wix acquired Base44 — a 6-month-old AI startup — for $80 million, even though it had no external funding and just one founder. Meanwhile, Windsurf became the subject of a dramatic acquisition saga involving OpenAI, Google, and finally Cognition.
In terms of talent wars, there was a dramatic twist two weeks ago when Cursor poached two key members from Claude Code — Cat Wu (former PM) and Boris Cherny (engineering lead). However, it was reported today that both of them have since returned to Claude Code.
At the same time, major players like Amazon and Figma (which has filed for IPO) are also entering the AI coding space, launching their own products — suggesting that the drama in this domain is far from over.
Last month, Elena Verna shared Lovable’s internal practices around building an AI-Native Employee. It highlighted how the company builds not just AI-native products but AI-native teams. Being “AI-native” isn’t about simply using AI tools — it’s about having AI as a default instinct, where every employee naturally reaches for AI as their first approach.
Beehiiv Revenue hit $30M
Meanwhile, Tyler Denk, founder of newsletter platform Beehiiv, announced that Beehiiv has surpassed $20 million in ARR, and when including revenue from its Ad Network and Boosts feature, its total annual revenue exceeds $30 million.
Tyler shared that he’s never been more bullish about the future of the company. While the ad network is still a smaller revenue stream, its MoM revenue grew 64% in May, signaling that this may just be the beginning.
He also shared 20 lessons and insights from his entrepreneurial journey over the past few years, which I found quite valuable — here’s a quick summary:
1. It Doesn’t Get Easier
The stress doesn’t disappear with scale — it evolves. Every stage brings new, often harder challenges. The myth of future calm is just that: a myth.
2. The Goalposts Keep Moving
What once seemed like a dream becomes just another number. Growth rewires your expectations faster than you’d think.
3. Most Advisors Are Just Window Dressing
They’re great for signaling legitimacy early on, but very few add real value. Set your expectations accordingly.
4. No One Cares Who Your Investors Are
Customers don’t care about your cap table. Raise from who believes in you, build the product, and the Tier 1s will follow — just like ours did.
5. Remote Work Is a Superpower
We’ve embraced it fully — it unlocks talent, flexibility, lifestyle, and happiness. I’d rather hang at the DMV than commute daily again.
6. Having Cofounders Is Underrated
When things break — and they always do — having partners in the trenches makes all the difference.
7. Tough Conversations > Avoidance
Firing, demotions, feedback — the fear is always worse than the reality. Don’t carry emotional baggage longer than you need to.
8. Dogfood Your Product
I use Beehiiv every day — for this newsletter, for our site, for everything. It keeps me close to the experience and accountable.
9. The CEO Role Changes Fast
You start building product. You end up building systems, culture, and people. Embrace the shift.
10. Storytelling Is a Superpower
It’s not just about motivating your team — it’s about building belief, alignment, and momentum.
11. There’s No Playbook
We lost a cofounder early on. GoDaddy wiped user sites. We acquired two companies. There is no prep for this — only response.
12. Shared Upside Drives Ownership
Everyone at Beehiiv has meaningful equity. When the whole team has skin in the game, magic happens.
13. Ownership Drives Excellence
If no one owns something, it doesn’t improve. Assign clear ownership, or expect mediocrity.
14. Transparency Wins
I share numbers, decks, and updates internally. Treat people like adults — they’ll repay it with trust and action.
15. Mental Health Is Not Optional
I fooled myself into thinking fitness was enough. It wasn’t. Don’t ignore your mind.
16. Founder Friends Are Lifelines
Other founders get it. Time with them = fuel. That’s why I run founder retreats regularly.
17. Speed Is the Ultimate Advantage
In the early days, speed was our moat. Build fast, ship faster, iterate always. Speed compounds.
18. Mediocrity Infects
A single “meh” hire can bring the whole team down. Don’t wait to part ways. Excellence or nothing.
19. You Have to Love the Game
I work 14-hour days and still want more. If you don’t love the process, no outcome will be worth it.
“I didn’t want to be rich. I didn’t want to be famous. I didn’t even want to be happy. I wanted to be great.” — Bruce Springsteen
20. The Best Is Still Ahead
After $30K MRR, someone told me, “You’ll hit $300K before you know it.” They were right. Small improvements compound. Every day, 1% better. That’s the whole game.