VERIFY RECORD
Base44
7 of 8 claims verified
7 of 8 key claims verified, 1 contradicted (solo-run exit framing). $38M of the $90M earnout already paid as of Q1 2026.
Claims
- [thin]
Solo founder: Maor Shlomo built and launched Base44 entirely alone
Shlomo was the sole shareholder and the product's primary builder, but TechCrunch notes he had 8 employees at acquisition. CTech cites 'fewer than 10 employees, six explicitly mentioned.' Wix expensed $25M in retention bonuses for those employees. Solo founder is accurate; solo-run company at exit is overstated.
- [verified]
Bootstrapped, zero external funding
Shlomo was the sole shareholder. No outside capital raised prior to acquisition. Growth was organic, primarily word-of-mouth.
- [verified]
Product launched January 2025, acquired six months later
TechCrunch dates founding to approximately December 2024 and the acquisition to June 2025 (6 months). One Calcalist article carries dates uniformly off by one year; all other sources confirm June 2025. The '500 days' framing measures from Shlomo's October 2023 post-reserve-duty idea origin to acquisition, not from product launch.
- [verified]
$80M all-cash acquisition by Wix (June 2025)
$80M is the initial cash consideration. The deal also includes earnout payments through 2029 tied to revenue performance milestones. Wix press room and SEC filings confirm the structure.
- [verified]
250,000-400,000 users and $189K monthly profit at acquisition
TechCrunch cites 250,000 users. CTech and secondary sources cite up to 400,000. $189,000 net profit in May 2025 is confirmed by both TechCrunch and CTech. ARR at acquisition was approximately $3.5M, not the $50M ARR figure that appeared in some coverage (that was a near-term post-acquisition projection by Wix).
- [verified]
$90M earnout for Shlomo tied to revenue milestones through 2029
CTech confirms $90M total earnout, already recorded as an accounting expense by Wix. A $38M tranche was triggered and paid by Q1 2026, per a separate CTech milestone article. Specific revenue thresholds for each tranche are not publicly disclosed.
- [verified]
$100M ARR nine months after acquisition
CTech published the $100M ARR milestone article on March 4, 2026, nine months after the June 2025 close. A prior CTech article noted Base44 was tracking toward $50M ARR within months of acquisition. The $150M ARR figure appearing in some search aggregators is not confirmed by a primary source fetched in this record.
- [verified]
2 million users post-acquisition
CTech and Wix investor communications cite 2M+ users served and over 1,000 new paying subscribers per day by early 2026. Figure is consistent across multiple Wix reporting cycles.
Gaps
- Legal incorporation date for the Base44 entity (distinct from product launch date)
- Specific revenue thresholds that trigger each earnout tranche through 2029
- Audited profit figures (only founder-reported $189K monthly profit is in the record)
- Post-acquisition headcount trajectory beyond the 8 employees at close
- Whether Shlomo retains a management or advisory role at Base44 post-acquisition or operates independently under an employment agreement
- $150M ARR figure cited in some aggregator sources, not confirmed by a primary source fetched here