Automattic launches Spacefast to deploy vibe-coded websites and apps

What Spacefast does

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has launched Spacefast, a platform for deploying websites and applications created through "vibe coding" — software generated by prompting AI tools rather than writing code by hand. According to TechCrunch, the product was soft-launched in September to gather feedback ahead of its full debut on November 9.

Spacefast is not another AI coding assistant. Instead, it supplies the backend plumbing that AI-generated projects typically lack: databases, authentication, file uploads, email and analytics. The aim is to turn a generated prototype into something that functions as a real website, app or service.

To get started, users can either connect a Git repository or link the platform to an external AI agent. TechCrunch reports that supported connections include ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Amp, OpenClaw, Grokbot, Muse, Pi, Opencode and Hermes.

A hackathon project that grew

The product is led by Batuhan Icoz, who built the first version during an Automattic hackathon sprint earlier this year while also working on the company's cross-platform messaging app, Beeper. He told TechCrunch that his non-technical friends kept sending him links to vibe-coded experiments hosted elsewhere, and he began questioning why he would reach for Cloudflare when Automattic already operates its own content delivery network. The internal project, initially named Stattic, was shared with friends, gained features over time, and eventually became Spacefast.

Early users have already put the platform to varied uses, according to TechCrunch, including internal mockups, slideshows and promotional websites.

A crowded field

Spacefast enters a busy market. TechCrunch names Lovable and Emergent as direct competitors, both of which bundle an interface with hosting rails for vibe-coded apps, though in a more closed fashion. Design and productivity tools such as Figma, Canva and Notion are also shipping products that sit at the intersection of AI generation, mockups and presentations.

Icoz argues that Spacefast's advantage over Lovable is openness: users can pick whichever agent they prefer and use the platform their own way. He acknowledges the counterargument — some users would rather not choose at all and want an all-in-one experience. He also points to Automattic's existing portfolio, which should make it straightforward to add web analytics, WordPress integration and e-commerce capabilities through WooCommerce.

The enterprise pitch

Beyond individual builders, Automattic is targeting companies dealing with what Icoz calls IT sprawl. Marketing teams are spinning up landing pages on services like Lovable, he told TechCrunch, and enterprises want to consolidate with a vendor that understands their requirements — something he believes Automattic's track record serving business customers positions it to offer.

Retention and a changing web

A known hazard for new AI-era products is that users try them, then drift to the next shiny thing within days or weeks. Icoz is realistic about this and told TechCrunch he expects churn, since some users may not be genuinely interested in building apps at all. His stated strategy is to make the building process so easy, and the output so much better, that people stay.

The launch also comes as the traditional web faces pressure. Publishers are losing traffic to AI chatbots and summaries, to the extent that even Google has seen its ad revenue growth slip. Icoz admitted to TechCrunch that people now build sites with ChatGPT or Claude rather than deploying on WordPress, and said some sites may not need a content management system at all as the web expands.

Launch amid internal turmoil

Spacefast arrives during a rough stretch for Automattic. TechCrunch notes that the company's board forced CEO Matt Mullenweg out in an episode reminiscent of the OpenAI and Sam Altman saga, only for him to return to control within days. The rebel board was later replaced, an interim CFO departed weeks into the job, and in October TechCrunch reported that layoffs had begun across several Automattic properties, with more cuts expected.

Why it matters

WordPress has powered a significant share of the web for two decades, and Automattic's willingness to build deployment infrastructure for AI-generated apps is an explicit acknowledgment that website creation is shifting from CMS templates to conversational prompting. If vibe coding becomes a default way people publish online, the hosting and backend layer becomes the valuable ground to hold — and Automattic would rather compete for that layer with its own CDN and infrastructure than watch users default to Vercel, Cloudflare or startups like Lovable. The open question is whether an incumbent built for the CMS era can win a market defined by rapid experimentation and fickle users, especially while the company itself navigates leadership upheaval and layoffs.