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TV is dead, long live Netflix – streaming giant reveals first live TV plans as cable and broadcast hit new landmark low

Viewing figures in May show streaming eclipsed TV for the first timeThe news comes as Netflix signs a broadcast deal with France’s TF1Netflix will show traditional TV channels from next yearTraditional TV just hit a new low – for the first time in history, streaming services had a bigger audience than broadcast and cable channels combined. That’s according to official US viewership numbers from May, and in a poetic twist of timing, Netflix has just announced its first-ever deal to broadcast traditional channels and live TV.In a tie-up with French TV giant TF1 (as reported by The Financial Times), the streaming platform will host all five of its traditional channels – along with more than 30,000 hours of on-demand content. From summer next year, subscribers in France will be able to watch everything from prime-time dramas to The Voice, plus live sports, including the French national football team’s matches.The deal marks a major shift in the streaming landscape. Netflix has long posed a disruptive threat to traditional television – now it’s going full circle and offering the medium a lifeline, hosting the very kind of live, linear programming that it helped to dethrone.

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The move’s timing is particularly exquisite, because May was also the first month on record where streaming became more popular than its traditional TV rivals…Crossing the streamsAccording to Nielsen data, May was the first month ever where streaming was more popular than cable and broadcast combined in the US.YouTube led the field (12.5%), followed by Netflix (7.5%). Nielsen’s data has limitations – it only tracks US viewing on TV screens (smartphones, tablets and laptops aren’t included). But it’s still a milestone moment that reflects a wider trend: more people (especially younger audiences) are ditching scheduled programming entirely. Instead, they access on-demand content through smart TVs, tablets and smartphones.(Image credit: Nielsen)As streaming eats up more screen time, traditional broadcasters are struggling to keep up. Fragmented audiences and falling ad revenues make it harder to sustain old business models. While some have launched their own streaming services, such as Britbox – a joint venture between ITV and BBC Studios – these rarely achieve global reach. Now, some networks are turning to their streaming rivals for traction.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.TF1 is a perfect example. Its free-to-watch TF1+ streaming service serves a sizable domestic audience, but remains heavily reliant on advertising revenue. Netflix’s subscriber base in France – which reportedly passed 10 million in 2022 – offers a much bigger pool of potential viewers. For TF1, the upside of a partnership is clear.Competitor to saviorFor Netflix, the deal brings fresh content to its platform. TF1 has a huge back-catalog, including popular dramas such as Brocéliande and reality shows like Koh-Lanta. Speaking to the The Financial Times, Greg Peters, co-chief executive of Netflix, said that many French viewers already think of “TV as Netflix”.Describing TF1 as a “producer of great, premium content”, Peters highlighted the variety of shows that the tie-up will bring to the platform. In a competitive market, where Netflix needs to continue justifying its rising subscription costs, it’s a move which could help retain customers.It isn’t the first time the two companies have worked together. TF1 and Netflix previously collaborated on scripted co-productions such as Les Combattantes and Tout le bleu du ciel. But it is the first time Netflix will stream live, scheduled TV channels. That marks a major evolution in how streaming platforms and legacy broadcasters work together.(Image credit: Netflix)It also reflects how streaming has reshaped TV itself – not just how we watch, but what gets made. Shows like Lucifer (above), Money Heist and Designated Survivor were all rescued by Netflix after being canceled by their original networks. In more ways than one, streaming has gone from TV’s competitor to its savior.Whether this deal signals the start of a broader shift remains to be seen. Peters hinted that Netflix would see how things go with TF1 before rolling out similar partnerships elsewhere. But it’s a clear sign that the definition of ‘TV’ has changed forever. As streaming overtakes traditional channels, the lines between the two are blurrier than ever. And it’s Netflix that’s setting the boundaries.You might also like…

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Apple Communication and Connectivity Tech News

The foldable iPhone looks to be getting closer – and a new rumor teases the one thing I’ve been fearing about the Z Fold 7 rival

Apple’s foldable iPhone is on track to go on sale in September 2026, based on a new rumorA well-known Apple analyst claims it will enter production next yearThey also say its sales will be impacted by its high price tagApple’s long-awaited foldable iPhone is due to enter production next year, according to a leading analyst, which puts it on course for a release alongside the iPhone 18 range in September 2026.Posting on X, Ming-Chi Kuo also claimed that Apple is anticipating relatively low sales of its foldable, on account of what he says will be its “premium pricing”.If Kuo is on the money, this would mean there’s not long to go before we get a glimpse of the company’s first attempt at a foldable device. Then, we’ll finally find out how it fares against the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

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The foldable iPhone has been rumored to come with an under-display camera, a near-invisible seam, a beautiful display, and impressive battery life. That all means it won’t come cheap – which Kuo appears to confirm – and that’s a key concern of mine.The pricing barrier(Image credit: ConceptsiPhone)In the X post, Kuo noted that recent rumors have claimed Apple has ordered 15-20 million units of the device. Yet Kuo revealed that this is likely the figure for “the product’s 2-3 year lifecycle,” putting the sales estimates for each year significantly lower.The importance of that is that Kuo says the lower yearly estimations all come down to the foldable’s “premium pricing.” As with the costly Vision Pro headset, the sky-high asking price of the foldable iPhone is going to put a lot of people off, including myself – while I’m dying to try out this new evolution in the iPhone line-up, I’m not willing to sell a kidney to get one.How much are we talking here? We’ve previously seen reports that Apple could price the foldable iPhone anywhere between $2,100 and $2,500. For context, the most expensive iPhone right now – the iPhone 16 Pro Max – starts at $1,199, making the foldable iPhone roughly twice as expensive.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.We won’t know for sure, of course, until the foldable iPhone actually launches. But with that date rapidly approaching, it could well be out of reach for the majority of Apple’s customers.You might also like

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Communication and Connectivity Tech News

Mark your calendars – this is likely launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Watch 8

The next Unpacked could be on July 9, according to new rumorsWe’re expecting new foldables and wearablesSamsung hasn’t yet made anything officialWe’ve heard plenty of leaks and rumors around the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Flip 7, and the Galaxy Watch 8 – and we may now know the date when these upcoming gadgets are getting their official unveiling, too.According to well-known tipster @evleaks, the next Galaxy Unpacked – the name Samsung tends to give to its launch events – is going to be on Wednesday, July 9. Apparently, the show gets underway at 10am Eastern time in the US, which works out as 7am PT / 3pm BST, or midnight AEST on July 10 for those in Australia.That date isn’t much of a surprise, as last year’s equivalent event – including reveals for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Galaxy Z Flip 6, and the Galaxy Watch 7 – happened on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.

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Nothing is certain until Samsung confirms it of course, but this tipster has a good record, and the date makes sense. It’s likely that the event will be available to stream online somewhere, and we will of course be covering it live as well.Here’s what’s comingWe don’t get any fresh details about what to expect in this particular leak, but we’ve heard plenty already. For example, the new foldables are expected to come with improved camera setups and a free Google AI subscription for six months.Samsung itself has confirmed that the upcoming folding phones will be running One UI 8 out of the box, though it didn’t specifically mention the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 names (which are pretty much a given at this point).On top of those two flagship foldables, we might well see Samsung’s tri-fold foldable in full for the first time – a device that’s rumored to be called the Samsung Galaxy G Fold. Samsung has already teased this device at other events, but we don’t know much about its specs, or how much it will cost.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.We should also get appearances from Samsung’s 2025 smartwatch upgrades too, which are expected to be the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. It’s possible the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 won’t show up until next year.You might also like

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Apple Cybersecurity Tech News

Over 16 billion records leaked in “unimaginable” major data breach – here’s what we know, and how you can see if you’re safe

Researchers found 30 databases housing 16 billion records onlineThe records were most likely generated by infostealersRecords come from a wide range of providers, from Apple to Google and many moreSecurity researchers have reported discovering what could be the mother of all data breaches – a set of 30 databases containing a total of 16 billion records.These records were most likely generated by various cybercriminals (and possibly white hat hackers or researchers) using different infostealing malware, a new report from Cybernews claims.The researchers note the databases differed in size – from “smaller” ones containing just millions of entries, to gigantic ones housing billions of records, with accounts from Google, Apple, to various VPN services, GitHub, Telegram, and more – and of the 30 discovered datasets, just one had been previously reported by the media, a “mysterious” database with 184 million records.

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Scratching the surface“It barely scratches the top 20 of what the team discovered,” Cybernews explained. “Most worryingly, researchers claim new massive datasets emerge every few weeks, signaling how prevalent infostealer malware truly is.”The databases were available to the wider internet only briefly, and were quickly locked down – however, it wasn’t possible to determine who the owners are.It is probable that many of the information overlaps, making it virtually impossible to determine exactly how many people were affected. It’s also important to note that some 5.5 billion people have access to the internet today, meaning that many people have multiple compromised accounts.Unprotected databases continue to be the most common cause of data leaks. For years, security researchers have been warning that many organizations do not understand the shared responsibility model of cloud services, and that they are required to safeguard and secure the data they generate.Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!On the other hand, cybercriminals are having a field day with these archives. They often contain more than enough of sensitive information to launch highly personalized, successful phishing campaigns, leading to identity theft, wire fraud, and even ransomware attacks.You might also like

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Marvel drops huge update about The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the group’s MCU future – here are the 3 reveals I’m most excited about

Possible spoilers follow for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.The Fantastic Four: First Steps is less than a month away (at the time of publication) from landing in theaters.With Marvel’s next movie set to arrive on July 25, the comic book titan is not only ramping up its promotional campaign for said film, but it’s also dropped some exciting new details about the group’s next big-screen reboot and their future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Here are the three biggest reveals that hit the internet yesterday (June 18).

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1. Another villainous unveiled via a… pizza ad?Marvel fans haven’t reacted well to Giganto’s CGI recreation (Image credit: Marvel Studios)First Steps will primarily pit Marvel’s First Family against the planet-devouring cosmic entity known as Galactus. He’ll be voiced by The Office UK alumnus Ralph Ineson, for those who aren’t aware.There are other villains who’ll appear throughout the MCU film, though. Julia Garner is set to play another antagonistic figure in The Silver Surfer, aka Galactus’ Herald. Meanwhile, The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ initial trailer teased the mysterious individual that John Malkovich will play. MCU devotees think he’s playing a B-list villain Red Ghost. Oh, and there are rumors that another cast member in Paul Walter Hauser will portray another of the group’s regular comic book foes in Mole Man.Think four villains is more than enough? Think again. Revealed by the most unlikely of sources – a new First Steps tie-in ad for US fast-food chain Little Caesar’s Pizza, no less – the monstrous creature known as Giganto will also appear in the forthcoming superhero film.We already knew Giganto would be part of the parallel universe that The Fantastic Four inhabit before they cross over into the MCU (more on this shortly). Indeed, Giganto features on the cover a forthcoming First Steps prequel comic book that acts as an origins story for the titular team and how they acquired their superpowers.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.I’d be amazed if this Giganto-starring scene is more than a footnote in, say, a longer sequence – in the movie’s first act – that shows The Fantastic Four defeating various enemies and hailed as heroes by their universe’s version of Earth. Nonetheless, I’m delighted to see the team’s first-ever adversary feature in some capacity, even if Giganto’s CGI recreation looks a little off.2. The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ ending will directly lead into Avengers: DoomsdayRobert Downey Jr will portray Doctor Victor von Doom in the MCU (Image credit: Marvel Studios)This reveal won’t come as a shock to many MCU fans. After all, First Steps is one of two Marvel Phase 6 movies that’ll land in theaters before Avengers: Doomsday does so in its revised December 2026 release slot. The other film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is currently slated to arrive in July 2026, but its launch could be delayed again if the joint Sony-Marvel venture’s story needs to follow the events of Avengers: Doomsday.But I digress. Speaking during Disney’s CineEurope 2025 presentation, Marvel President Kevin Feige confirmed (per Deadline) that the next Avengers film will directly follow on from First Steps.Thunderbolts’ post-credits scene already gave us an idea that this would be the case. Nevertheless, I was pleased to directly hear it from Feige himself. Does that mean Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom will make a crowd-pleasing cameo before First Steps’ main story ends or in one of its end credits scenes? Here’s hoping!3. A sequel to The Fantastic Four: First Steps might be in early developmentThe Fantastic Four could have a big impact on Earth-616 once they’ve settled into their new surroundings (Image credit: Marvel Studios)Announced at CineEurope 2025, Disney also revealed that a fourth Marvel movie has been added to its 2028 calendar. Currently, the untitled movie will launch in cinemas worldwide on December 15. If it does, it’ll join three other MCU films that are set to arrive in February, May, and November of that year.According to Variety, there are three possible candidates to fill that final 2028 slot – and one of them is reportedly a follow-up to the first Fantastic Four film, i.e. First Steps, that Marvel Studios has produced.If a sequel is already in the works, it suggests Marvel is bullish about First Steps’ chances of being a huge global hit. Of course, a second Fantastic Four MCU movie will depend on its critical reception and, more importantly, how much money it makes. However, given the group’s enduring popularity, its starry cast, and the fact it’ll set up events to come in the Downey Jr-led fifth Avengers flick, I’d be amazed if First Steps trips over itself and stumbles out of the gate.With its first two films of 2025 failing to make a profit, Marvel could use a box office win. Equally, The Fantastic Four has plenty of untapped cinematic potential following the abject-to-lukewarm responses that the group’s other film adaptations, which are available to stream on Disney+, received. I’m praying, then, that First Steps is a huge success and heralds a new golden age for Marvel’s First Family on the silver screen.For more details on one of my most anticipated new movies of the year, check out my definitive guide on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. And let me know in the comments if you’ll be heading to theaters to watch it.Today’s best Disney Plus dealsYou might also like

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The first Nintendo Switch 2 post-launch update has been released and it couldn’t be more underwhelming – here’s what’s new

Nintendo has released the first Switch 2 post-launch updateVersion 20.1.5 is small and only improves general system stability to enhance the user’s experienceThe update should automatically download if the console is connected to the internet but can be manually installed, tooNintendo has rolled out the first Nintendo Switch 2 update since the console was released, but there’s not much to be excited about.Version 20.1.5 is now live and available for the console and, as the patch notes detail, is a simple update with only one main feature.The patch adds: “General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience,” and that’s it. Presumably, this means the update has improved performance.

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Nintendo is always quite vague when it comes to Switch firmware updates, and it looks like it’ll be no different with the Switch 2.Like with the original Switch, the update should automatically download when the console is connected to the internet; otherwise, it can be manually installed via the System Settings menu.The Switch 2 launches earlier this month, along with a day-one patch that was required for a number of the console’s features, including backwards compatibility, Game Share, Switch Online, Virtual Game Cards, Nintendo eShop, and more.If you’re looking to get your hands on the new console, you can check out our live coverage of Nintendo Switch 2 restocks for the US and UK.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.You might also like…

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Apple Tech News

The latest software update for PS5 and PSVR 2 won’t improve your console’s performance, but it does add an important learning app

A new software update for PS5 and PSVR 2 adds a free educational app all about climate changeThe Climate Station app is now available and lets users explore the story of climate change through three actsThe app is part of Sony’s commitment to the United Nations’ Playing for the Planet Alliance campaignSony has released a new software update for the PlayStation 5 and PSVR 2, whichintroduces a new educational app.Today, the company launched Climate Station, a free app for both consoles that raises awareness about climate change. It uses the latest gaming tech, including virtual reality, to allow users to view, interact with, and understand complex climate data to learn more about climate change.This app is the latest project in Sony’s commitment to the United Nations’ Playing for the Planet Alliance campaign, which aims to bring gaming industry leaders together to work towards their sustainability goals.

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“Whether you’re a curious explorer, a data detective, or just looking for something totally unique to dive into, this free app available today on PS5 and PSVR 2 is your gateway to understanding the forces shaping our world,” said Dan Bardino Senior Director, Strategic Development and Operations, PlayStation Studios on PlayStation Blog.Those with a 4K TV can view Climate Station with high-quality 4K visuals from the PlayStation 5, while PSVR 2 adds immersion by allowing users to view information in a first-person view.The app tells the story of climate change through three acts: Weather Year, Observations, and Projections, and also offers an Explainer Library, which features 90 minutes of multi-media content for users to explore.”Bringing climate awareness into the homes of millions through gaming will help build both knowledge and action to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste,” said Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division, United Nations Environment Programme, in a press release.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.”The approach to adapt the science into a game format has been impressive. We look forward to seeing how players react to this new tool and also recognise the leadership of Sony Interactive Entertainment in bringing climate science to consoles across the planet.”You might also like…

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Apple Tech News

“$1,700 for a camera that’s not weather sealed?” Fujifilm fans lambast the new X-E5, but I think it’s a decent deal – here’s why

In the US, the X-E5 costs twice the price of the X-E4 when it launched in 2021X-E5 offers a number of improvements over its predecessorThe X-E4 remains on sale, if you can find itIt’s fair to say that the official reveal of the Fujifilm X-E5 has caused some consternation among fans of the brand. Starting at $1,699 / £1,299 body only, this compact mirrorless camera is a lot pricier than its predecessor, the Fujifilm X-E4, which cost just $850 / £799 when it arrived in 2021.I’ll admit that it does seem a hefty sum to pay for a camera with no weather sealing and a dated, minuscule viewfinder. But as someone who reviews cameras day in, day out, I think the Fujifilm X-E5 represents pretty good value for money – at least on paper.I’ve yet to actually get my hands on a Fujifilm X-E5 review sample (it’s coming though, so stay tuned for an in-depth review here very soon) but even from afar it’s clear that this camera is more expensive than the X-E4 for very justifiable reasons. And TechRadar’s Cameras Editor Tim Coleman has his own take following a three day trip with the camera ahead of its launch – check out his X-E5 first thoughts.

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First, the specs and features on offer in Fujifilm’s new camera far surpass those of the X-E4. To pick out the most obvious two upgrades: the X-E5 is built around a new-gen 40.2MP X-Trans CMOS 5 HR back-illuminated sensor that offers almost twice the resolution of the X-E4’s 26.1MP sensor; and it now comes with in-body five-axis sensor shift image stabilization (IBIS).These enhancements, particularly the IBIS, should result in big improvements to image detail and sharpness, especially for handheld shooting. It can now also record 6.2K video, while the X-E4 topped out at 4K.Today’s best Fujifilm X-E5 with XF23mm f/2.8 and Fujifilm X-E5 dealsThe X-E5’s all-metal top plate is naturally going to drive up its asking price. Trust me, it’s lovely. (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)The X-E5 is also the first camera in the X-E series to come with an all-metal top plate. Machined from a single block of aluminium, I’m certain this will make the X-E5 feel tougher and more luxurious than its predecessor. Yes – even if it’s not technically weather-sealed – which I’ll admit is a bit of a disappointment, particularly as Fujifilm is selling the camera in a kit with a new XF23mm f/2.8 pancake lens, which IS weather resistant.I’ll also say that the tiny viewfinder could really have used an update. Incredibly, it actually appears to be the very same 0.39-inch, 2.36-million dot one as seen on the very first X-E series camera, the Fujifilm X-E1, which launched 13 years ago. It’s functional, yes – but as a photographer who much prefers composing shots with my eye pressed up against a viewfinder rather than looking at a screen, the bigger, brighter and crisper the viewfinder the better.Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.The LCD screen also appears to be a downgrade from other recent models – it’s a 1.04m-dot unit rather than the 1.84m-dot utir lized by the the X-T50 and X100VI.When talking about the price of the X-E5, particularly in the US, we must also acknowledge the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs, which has led to a situation where non-US manufacturers are naturally going to raise prices on their products. It’s no secret that the X-E5 costs $200 more than it otherwise would have.The X-E5 is available in black or silver and in a more cost effective bundle with the new XF 23mm f/2.8 WR lens. (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)Even setting aside this tariff confusion, inflation has also bitten hard since 2021 – so it’s really not that surprising to see the X-E5 priced this way.Finally, it seems that Fujifilm is set to keep the X-E4 in its current X Series line-up, if you can find it in stock, which means the company is still giving consumer the option to pick up an affordable rangefinder-style mirrorless camera if that’s what they need. While the X-E4 is certainly not without its drawbacks, it’s still a very serviceable interchangeable lens camera. It just now has a more advanced, better-constructed sibling for anyone who wants it.Disagree with me and still think the X-E5 is far too pricey compared to its predecessor? Feel free to sound off in the comments below – but do remember to check back soon for a full and definitive review of Fujifilm’s latest release.You might also like…

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‘Kid-pilled’ Sam Altman ‘constantly’ asked ChatGPT questions about his newborn

Across hundreds of thousands of years of human existence, an impossible question has befuddled our species: why is the baby crying?!

Sam Altman, who is both the father of a three-month-old and CEO of OpenAI, hopped on OpenAI’s new podcast today to talk about how his company is impacting his experience with fatherhood. Altman, who describes himself as “extremely kid pilled,” said he was “constantly” using ChatGPT to ask questions about the behavior of babies during the first few weeks of his son’s life — now that he’s a bit more settled, he’s using ChatGPT to ask more general questions about children’s developmental stages.

“I mean, clearly, people have been able to take care of babies without ChatGPT for a long time,” Altman said. “I don’t know how I would’ve done that.”

This, obviously, isn’t fundamentally different from frantically Googling questions about babies, something that even the most well-prepared parents have been doing for decades. But, given who Altman is, his choice of internet tool to use is no surprise.

Still, when hallucination remains a challenge for AI products, it may be concerning to imagine relying so heavily on a chat AI for baby care answers.

But parents have been known to turn to many a questionable source for information in the middle of the night. My colleagues with children describe the “bottomless pit” of Google, and the minefield of parenting Facebook groups. Is ChatGPT really much different than taking the advice of someone online who’s insisting that you are a neglectful caretaker if you aren’t basing your baby’s bed time on the current phase of the moon?

Perhaps the idea of parents using AI in search for child-raising answers is less of a “primal alarm bell” then the idea of very young children using it, which Altman also discussed.

“There’s this video that always has stuck with me of a baby, or a little toddler, with one of those old glossy magazine [tapping] the screen,” Altman said. The child thought that the magazine was an iPad. “Kids born now will just think that the world always had extremely smart AI.”

Former OpenAI science communicator Andrew Mayne, who was interviewing Altman, recalled seeing a social media post from a parent who used the voice mode of ChatGPT to talk to his child about his obsessions.

“He got tired of talking to his kid about Thomas the Tank Engine, so he put ChatGPT into voice mode… An hour later, the kid’s still talking about Thomas the train,” Mayne said gleefully.

“Kids love voice mode,” Altman interjected.

As today’s parents turn to ChatGPT for all sorts of similar uses, this will likely end up reflecting the same repetitive discourse around the “iPad kid” generation (yes, it’s probably bad to let your kid watch hours and hours of “Cocomelon”; no, it’s not fair to expect parents to occupy their kid 24/7).

But existing children’s media is at least, for now, created by a team of humans, while ChatGPT’s own policies recommend it not be used by children under age 13. It does not have a vetted parental controls mode. Even Altman is aware of the risks, he said.

“It’s not all going to be good. There will be problems,” Altman said. “People will develop these somewhat problematic, or maybe very problematic parasocial relationships, and society will have to figure out new guardrails.”

Altman is correct. We do not fully know the effect of letting kids talk to a large language model about Thomas the Tank Engine for an hour. But at the end of the day, Altman is the head of a massive company spending billions and billions of dollars with the hope of building AI that is smarter than humans, and he never forgets that in his messaging.

“The upsides will be tremendous!” Altman said. “Society in general is good at figuring how to mitigate the downsides.”

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Apple Cybersecurity Tech News

Six-month-old, solo-owned vibe coder Base44 sells to Wix for $80M cash

There’s a lot of talk in the startup world about how AI makes individuals so productive that it could give rise to a generation of “solo unicorns” – one-person companies worth over $1 billion.

While an actual solo unicorn remains a mythical creature, Israeli developer Maor Shlomo provided compelling evidence Wednesday that the concept might not be impossible. 

Shlomo sold his six-month-old, bootstrapped vibe-coding startup Base44 to Wix for $80 million deal, Wix announced Wednesday. And the deal was cash, Wix confirmed to TechCrunch. 

Admittedly, this wasn’t a billion dollars or close to it. And Shlomo wasn’t truly solo — he had 8 employees, Wix confirmed. They will collectively receive $25 million of the $80 million as a “retention” bonus. Wix declined to give details on that part of the deal, like how long they have to stay in their jobs to get full payouts.

Still, Base44’s rapid rise and impressive sale price has been the talk of the vibe coding community. 

In its six months as a standalone company, it reportedly grew to 250,000 users, hitting 10,000 users within its first three weeks. According to Shlomo’s posts on X and LinkedIn, the company was profitable, generating $189,000 in profit in May even after covering high LLM token costs, which he also documented publicly.

Base44 spread mostly through word of mouth as Shlomo, a 31-year-old programmer, shared his building journey on LinkedIn and Twitter. The project began as side venture, he told Israeli tech news site CTech.  

“Base44 is a moonshot experiment – helping everyone, technical or not, build software without coding at all,” he explained on LinkedIn when he launched it to the public.

It’s one of the newer crop of vibe-coding products designed for non-programmers. Users enter text prompts, and the platform builds complete applications, with database, storage, authentication, analytics, and integration. It also supports email, texting, and maps, with a roadmap for more enterprise-grade security support.

Base44 isn’t unique in this area. Other vibe coders like Adaptive Computer handle similar infrastructure work. But Base44’s fast rise was astounding all the same.

Shlomo was already known in the Israeli startup community through his previous startup, the Insight Partners-backed data analytics startup Explorium. His brother is also a co-founder of an AI security startup, Token Security, which just raised $20 million led by Notable Capital (formerly GGV Capital) and a bunch of Israeli tech angels.

He quickly gained partnership agreements for Base44 with big Israeli tech companies like eToro and Similarweb.

After posting about his decision to use Anthropic’s Claude LLM through AWS instead of models by OpenAI — mostly for cost-per-performance reasons — Amazon invited Base44 to demo at a Tel Aviv AWS event last month, which Shlomo documented.

“Crazy f***ing journey so far,” Shlomo posted on LinkedIn when announcing the news of the acquisition. Despite the growth and the profits – or really because of it – he sold his still-bootstrapped company because “the scale and volume we need is not something we can organically grow into … If we were able to get so far organically, bootstrapped, I’m excited to see our new pace now that we have all the resources in place,” he wrote.

For its part, Wix picked up a proven, fast-growing, local vibe-coding platform for a relative song because of its youth. OpenAI paid $3 billion for Windsurf, which was funded in 2021. 

Wix, of course, offers no-code website building that look professionally designed. Adding a profitable LLM vibe coding product to its offerings is a logical move.

Shlomo could not be immediately reached for additional comment.

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