Automattic launches Spacefast to host vibe-coded apps beyond WordPress

The latest:

Automattic has launched Spacefast, a hosting and infrastructure service built for applications generated through vibe coding. The company, which owns WordPress.com, is pitching the product as a way to turn AI-generated projects into working websites, apps and services, placing it directly against Lovable and Emergent in a market now crowded with AI-assisted building tools.

Details:

• What it does: Spacefast supplies the infrastructure layer that vibe-coded projects typically lack, according to Automattic: databases, authentication, file uploads, email and analytics. The company frames it as the step that converts a generated prototype into a functioning website, app or service rather than a disposable demo link.
• The agent list: Users can connect Spacefast to outside agents and chatbots including ChatGPT, Claude, Hermes, OpenClaw, Grok Bot, Muse, Pi, Cursor, OpenCode and Amp, the company said. Those who prefer not to route through an agent can instead connect a Git repository to begin deploying.
• Who built it: The product is headed by Batuhan İçöz, who developed it during an internal hackathon sprint earlier in the year while working on Automattic’s cross-platform messaging app Beeper. He said non-technical friends kept sending him Vercel links as they experimented with vibe coding.
• The origin story: İçöz told TechCrunch he questioned why Automattic customers should reach for Cloudflare when the company already runs a comparable content delivery network. Initially called Stattic before being renamed Spacefast, the project grew with added features after he circulated it among friends.
• The pitch: “I thought there had to be a better way for everyone to set up and deploy their projects,” İçöz told TechCrunch, adding that Automattic has been traditionally associated with just WordPress despite already owning the underlying infrastructure.
• The rollout: Automattic soft-launched Spacefast in September to collect feedback ahead of the public launch. Early use cases have included internal mockups, slideshows and offer-related websites, spanning individual users and organizations, the company said. No pricing structure was disclosed.
• The competition: Beyond Lovable and Emergent, Spacefast faces productivity and design platforms including Figma, Canva and Notion, each of which has shipped products sitting at the intersection of vibe coding, mockups and presentations. That widens the field well beyond dedicated AI app builders.
• The differentiation: İçöz argued Spacefast’s edge over Lovable is letting users pick their own agent rather than locking them into one workflow. He acknowledged the counter-argument that some users would rather have every decision made for them than choose.
• The Automattic angle: Sitting inside Automattic lets it ship web analytics, WordPress integration and e-commerce features through WooCommerce faster than standalone rivals can, the company said. İçöz said enterprises now face IT sprawl as marketing teams churn out landing pages on services like Lovable and want one vendor.

Background:

Vibe coding describes building software by prompting AI models rather than writing code directly. The resulting projects usually live as temporary preview links on services such as Vercel, without the databases, logins or analytics a production product requires.

Between the lines:

The enterprise framing is the sharper part of the pitch. İçöz is selling consolidation, not creation: his argument is that marketing teams generating landing pages across scattered AI tools create a procurement problem, and that Automattic’s existing infrastructure answers it. That positions Spacefast less as a Lovable competitor on building and more as the layer that cleans up after one.

What’s next

Watch whether Automattic publishes pricing and enterprise terms, how quickly the promised WooCommerce and WordPress integrations ship, and whether the open-agent approach draws users away from closed platforms like Lovable.