Lovable Hits $1.8B in ~2 Years—What That Says About Squarespace, Traditional CMS, and the AI Shift
TL;DR: Swedish “vibe-coding” startup Lovable went from launch to a $1.8B valuation in about two years after a $200M Series A in July 2025, with further investor interest reportedly pushing offers toward $4B.
Meanwhile, Squarespace peaked at a $10B valuation in 2021 and was taken private by Permira for ~$7.2B in October 2024—21 years after its 2003 founding.
The contrast is a wake-up call for traditional CMS: if you don’t ship real AI-native capabilities fast—including first-class data features—you won’t keep up with AI-accelerated product cycles.
Valuation vs. Time-to-Scale
Lovable: Announced $200M Series A at a $1.8B valuation (July 17–18, 2025). Multiple outlets and the company’s own post confirm the figure, with subsequent offers reportedly valuing the company around $4B only weeks later.
Squarespace: Raised $300M at a $10B valuation in March 2021, then taken private for ~$7.2B by Permira in October 2024 (deal completed and delisted).
Speed difference: Squarespace reached ~$7.2B 21 years after founding (2003 → 2024). (Wikipedia) Lovable reached $1.8B in ~2 years (founded/launched ~2023; coverage in 2025 underscores the two-year pace).
Product Velocity: Databases and “AI-First” Building
Lovable’s core promise is that non-developers can build apps by chatting with AI. Critically, Lovable Cloud will “automatically create the tables for you,” so users get data structures without touching a database—an AI-accelerated path from idea to working software.
By contrast, Squarespace offers powerful site building, commerce, and content “collections,” but no native, general-purpose database you control (developers typically rely on collections, embeds, or third-party integrations; no server-side/SQL on the platform).
Why it matters: In an AI era, structured data is the backbone for smarter features (automation, analytics, personalization). Tools that generate and wire up data models automatically reduce time-to-value dramatically.
The Strategic Gap for Traditional CMS
AI-native creation, not just AI add-ons. Generating layouts or copy is table stakes; the bar is AI that designs data models, hooks up logic, and scaffolds real apps. Lovable’s quick database/table creation is a concrete example.
Programmability without pain. If a platform doesn’t expose first-class data and logic (not merely content collections), it limits what AI can automate. Squarespace’s architecture centers on collections and client-side customization—great for sites, limiting for app-like experiences without external services.
Time-to-outcome is the new moat. Lovable’s valuation jump reflects time-to-build as a competitive axis. The faster users ship working, data-backed experiences, the higher the perceived value—something AI accelerates.
What Squarespace (and Peers) Must Do
Ship a native data layer (tables/records, relations, permissions) that creators can define—or that AI can define for them—within Squarespace, not only via embeds or third-party bridges.
Expose an AI scaffold API so prompts can produce schemas, forms, workflows, and automations safely inside the product.
Close the loop with analytics & automations: event streams, triggers, and AI routines that act on user data—without forcing external stacks.
Maintain the design DNA but pair it with app-like primitives (data, actions, rules) that AI can manipulate.
Bottom Line
Lovable reached $1.8B (and drew $4B offers) in roughly two years by proving that AI-first app creation resonates with the market.
Squarespace achieved $10B in 2021 and a $7.2B take-private in 2024, but the next decade will reward platforms that treat AI and data as native building blocks, not plugins.
If traditional CMSs don’t adapt quickly with real AI-native data and automation, they risk becoming beautiful shells around someone else’s app engine.
Sources
Lovable $200M / $1.8B announcement; follow-on valuation coverage. (Lovable)
Business Insider on growth pace and ARR; FT on $4B offers. (Business Insider)
Squarespace $10B round (2021) and take-private at ~$7.2B (Oct 2024). (The Official Squarespace Newsroom)
Squarespace founding year (2003/2004). (Wikipedia)
Lovable Cloud docs (auto-created tables); Squarespace docs & community/StackOverflow on lack of native databases/server-side code. (Lovable Documentation)