Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in enhancing efficiency across various domains, including the realm of website development. Numerous tools now empower users to create web designs simply by articulating their requirements through prompts. This includes prominent players such as Wix and emerging startups like Relume. A new entrant in this arena is 10web, a company hailing from Armenia, which believes it possesses a competitive advantage.
10web facilitates the rapid generation of websites using WordPress, a widely utilized content management system known for its complexity, especially for novices, without the need for intricate technical skills. In contrast to platforms like Wix and Squarespace, WordPress, being open-source, often necessitates additional expertise to unlock its full potential, as many features are not readily available and hosting services are separate, requiring users to handle more backend responsibilities.
Despite these challenges, WordPress continues to dominate approximately 40% of all websites on the internet, owing to its extensive customization capabilities, as per w3techs estimates. Following WordPress, Shopify ranks second, particularly amid the surge in direct-to-consumer e-commerce, with merchants opting to establish their online stores using Shopify instead of relying solely on Amazon.
To enhance the user-friendliness of WordPress, the engineering team at 10web, based in Yerevan, has integrated advanced generative AI models like Llama 2, GPT-4, and Stable Diffusion into its website building platform. This endeavor demands substantial development efforts due to the intricate nature of constructing a platform for WordPress, as highlighted by Arto Minasyan, co-founder of 10web and also the mind behind Krisp, a startup leveraging machine learning to eliminate background noise from audio.
Minasyan is optimistic that prioritizing the enhancement of WordPress’s usability will yield significant benefits in the long run, given the vast open-source community it boasts, comprising two million developers. Established in 2017, 10web currently operates with a positive cash flow, with approximately 20,000 users as paying customers. Noteworthy is the fact that some small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers may have multiple websites under their management, as mentioned by Minasyan. To date, 10web has facilitated the creation of 1.5 million websites.
The monetization strategy of 10web involves charging fees per website or based on traffic. The company also intends to introduce a payment system enabling users to bill their clients, with 10web receiving a commission from these transactions.
At present, 10web is generating \(5 million in annual recurring revenue and anticipates reaching \)25 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of the following year. Minasyan attributes the company’s growth partly to its advantageous location in Armenia, where engineering talent is abundant and cost-effective compared to regions like the U.S.
Armenia, with its burgeoning tech scene centered in the capital city, has birthed its first unicorn, Picsart, setting a precedent for aspiring startups. Given Armenia’s modest economy, local entrepreneurs have traditionally expanded globally, with a keen focus on the U.S. market. This strategy involves leveraging Armenia’s tech talent for engineering roles while establishing marketing and business development teams in the U.S., a model adopted by 10web’s workforce of 70 employees. Furthermore, maintaining a presence in the U.S. can be beneficial for fundraising endeavors.
The founder emphasized that the majority of Armenian startups target the U.S. market for growth opportunities. While Armenian venture capitalists may suffice for smaller funding rounds, substantial sums for seed funding or Series A rounds often necessitate engaging with investors in the U.S.
