Create Raises $8.5M for App-Building AI Agent

AI agentic startup Create has secured $8.5 million in new funding to eliminate barriers in the app development process.

Bessemer Venture Partners led the round with participation from Shopify founder Tobi Lütke, Mathilde Collin (Front), Wade Foster (Zapier), Des Traynor (Intercom), Laura Wu (Shippo), and Ben Tossell (Ben’s Bites). 

The new funding will help Create scale its reach to agencies, product design teams, and enterprise clients.

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Meet Create, the Next Major AI Coding Agent

The San Francisco-based startup was founded by Dhruv Amin, YouTube TV’s first Product Manager, and Marcus Lowe, an ex-Googler from Google Maps and the MIT Media Lab. Create builds the boring stuff that makes apps work: hosting, databases, payment processing, even App Store submission, all in one.

Tools promising to “let anyone build an app” often fall short, producing browser-only prototypes that require extensive development before they can be published or sold. 

Bringing a product to the App Store or Google Play demands engineering expertise, a robust backend, hosting, and compliance steps that are often too complex for individuals to handle alone. Create aims to bridge this gap.

“Everyone’s asking who’s the next major AI coding agent. We think it’s whoever becomes the Shopify for software, where anyone can build and monetize apps as easily as selling t-shirts. This week proved we’re right. Users are going from idea to App Store to first customer in days,” said Marcus Lowe, co-founder. 

While competitors focused on generating flashy prototypes, Create built the foundational elements that make apps functional: hosting, databases, payment processing, and even App Store submission – all in one seamless package.

Anything’s Impressive Traction and Next Steps

Create’s new product, Anything, enables users to simply type a description of the product they want to create. The platform then generates a complete mobile and web application, including backend systems, hosting, payment support, and a design style that users describe as “human-made” rather than machine-generated.

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Although launched on August 7, Anything garnered 3.2 million views within 72 hours, attracted over 30,000 new sign-ups, and saw paid subscriptions triple compared to the previous week. 

The company’s registered user base now surpasses 500,000. The product is capable of handling 20,000 new projects daily with outputs ranging from consumer apps such as baby monitors to internal enterprise tools.

It is on the strength of this traction that Create secured $8.5 million in funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and joined by investors such as Shopify founder Tobi Lütke, Mathilde Collin (Front), Wade Foster (Zapier), Des Traynor (Intercom), Laura Wu (Shippo), and Ben Tossell (Ben’s Bites). 

“What impressed us most about Create and Anything is how they’ve eliminated every barrier in the app development process. Other tools promise AI-generated code, but Anything delivers a complete solution that’s changing who can build software. We’re seeing thousands of people launch real, revenue-generating businesses that would have required engineering teams before,” said David Cowan, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners.

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With a starting subscription of $19/month and an impressive net revenue retention rate of 98%, Create is poised to scale its reach to agencies, product design teams, and enterprise clients. The company’s roadmap includes enhancing monetization tools for creators and expanding its presence internationally.

Main Image:  Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, Create’s cofounders. Image Credit: Create