Automattic debuts a platform to deploy vibe coding apps amid a changing internet
WordPress has been a crucial technology and content management system for websites like TechCrunch. Now, WordPress.com owner Automattic is responding to the changing state of the web by debuting a new service called Spacefast, which will allow users to deploy vibe-coded websites and apps. Spacefastis designed to provide infrastructure for the vibe-coded apps, including databases, authentication, file uploads, emails, and analytics, to make them functional websites, apps, or services. The product competes with the likes of Lovable and Emergent, which offer both interface and rails for vibe-coded apps, but in a more open way. Users can connect Spacefast with other agents and chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Hermes, OpenClaw, Grokbot, Muse, Pi, Cursor, Opencode, and Amp. Alternatively, they can connect a Git repository to Spacefast to get started. The product is headed by Batuhan İçöz, who worked on working on it during one of the companyâs hackathon sprints earlier in the year. At that time, he worked on the companyâs cross-platform messaging app Beeper and said that he often got Vercel links from his non-technical friends while exploring vibe coding. âI thought there had to be a better way for everyone to set up and deploy their projects. Automattic already has good infrastructure, but we have been traditionally associated with just WordPress. I thought, why do I have to use Cloudflare when we have a CDN (Content Delivery Network) just as good? So I started working on what was called Stattic and now Spacefast,â he told TechCrunch over a call. İçöz eventually disseminated the solution to his friends and added more features to make the product more dynamic. Automattic soft-launched the product in September to get feedback before todayâs launch.The company has seen varied use cases of their product, with people and organizations using it for internal mockups, slideshows, and offer-related websites. However, thatâs not the only competition Spacefast has. Productivity and design software like Figma, Canva, and Notion have launched products that sit at the intersection of vibe coding, mockups, and presentations. İçöz thinks that, compared to something like Lovable, Spacefast has the advantage of giving users a choice of their agent and using the solution their way. The counter-argument might be that a certain kind of user wouldnât want to choose and just have everything figured out for them. Spacefast said that it also has the advantage of being within Automattic to launch solutions like web analytics, WordPress integration, and e-commerce features (through WooCommerce) easily to compete better with the whole lot. âFor enterprises, the problem right now is IT sprawl, as their marketing teams are churning out landing pages on services like Lovable, and they want to consolidate and work with a company that understands the enterprise needs. With our existing products, we have experience serving enterprise customers,â İçöz noted. A challenge for newly minted products in the AI world is to retain people post-launch. Users might get excited to try out a new product, and then move on to the new shiny thing within days or weeks. İçöz is cognizant of the fact and said that he expects people to churn, as they might not be interested in making apps at all. âI think what we need to do as a product is make sure that when you build something with SpaceFast, it is so easy, and the results are so much better than without Spacefast,â İçöz emphesized. Many websites and publishers are struggling with dwindling traffic due to AI chatbots and summaries, right now, to the point thatGoogle itself saw its ad revenue growth drop. İçöz acknowledged that people are making websites with ChatGPT or Claude now as compared to deploying something on WordPress, and he said some sites wonât need a content management system at all as the web expands. Spacefast comes amid turbulent months at Automattic. In an OpenAI-Sam Altman-style saga, the companyâs board forcedCEO Matt Mullenweg out, but he wasback in control within days. The rebel board waseventually replaced, and the interim CFO left within weeks of appointment. In October, TechCrunch reported that thecompany had began layoffs across several propertiesand more cuts were expected.
