Israeli entrepreneur Maor Shlomo, who founded Israeli vibe coding startup Base44, an AI-based website and app building engine, received another $38 million in Wix.com Ltd. (Nasdaq: WIX) shares in the first quarter (along with a number of employees). Israeli website builder Wix acquired the company in June 2025 for a total of about $92 million - $18 million in cash paid near the signing of the deal and the rest contingent on meeting targets. The current payment comes after Base44 reached the sales targets set with Wix at the time of closing the deal.
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Base44's annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached the $100 million mark in March, and is already approaching $150 million as of mid-May. This figure reflects a forecast that changes depending on the revenue rate.
The high growth rate is also the result of vigorous marketing efforts by parent company Wix. Advertising investments (excluding the costs of the Super Bowl campaign in the US) amounted to $90 million in the first quarter of this year, "to capitalize on the strong demand for Base44."
Shlomo, 32, previously said that he did not expect to sell Base44 so quickly. The exit came shortly after completing a long period of army reserve service and only six months after founding the startup, which allows users to create digital creations without code, using natural language (such as a conversation with ChatGPT, for example). This is a new approach, Vibe Coding, that replaces traditional code-based development with development in which the user formulates what they want and the AI-based platform executes.
Wix misses in Q1
Wix itself ended the first quarter with results below analysts' expectations, but left its annual guidance intact. At the same time, CEO Avishai Avrahami updated investors that Wix has developed its own LLM (Large Language Model), which now supports Harmony, the company's website building platform.
In the first quarter, Wix revenue was up 14.3% from the corresponding quarter to $541 million, $2.9 million lower than analysts' forecasts. Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.68, compared with analysts' forecasts of $1.22. This was due to an increase in the company's marketing expenses following the acquisition of Base44 and advertising in the Super Bowl.
Since its peak in 2021, the stock has fallen 78.5% and Wix's market cap is currently $4.4 billion. Following investor disappointment over first quarter results, Wix’s share price is down 31%, giving a market cap of $3.041 billion.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 13, 2026.
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