Anton

CEO of Lovable, an AI application development platform

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The future of development involves humans providing high-level design philosophy while AI handles all coding and implementation, making the ability to write code obsolete.

He is currently bullish on Grok and bearish on OpenAI, basing this investment thesis on the perceived morale, trajectory, and hiring strategy of the respective teams.

The most powerful AI models will remain closed-source, and the companies that provide these foundation models are poised to become extremely valuable.

GPT-5, while not a general step-function improvement, is superior to competitors like Anthropic for solving very difficult and specific debugging problems.

For AI startups, achieving rapid execution and scale should be the primary focus, with building defensibility being a secondary concern addressed only after significant growth.

Podcast consensus on Anton

Points of consensus

▶Anton consistently articulates a grand vision for his company, Lovable, aiming for it to evolve from a 'technical co-founder' into an all-encompassing business platform that handles everything from idea generation to marketing and finance operations by 2026.

▶He holds a nuanced view on the capabilities of the latest AI models, asserting that GPT-5 is not a step-function improvement for general use but is superior for solving very difficult, specific problems like debugging.Mar 2026

▶Anton believes the future of software and product development will be radically transformed by AI, predicting a world where humans no longer write code and instead provide high-level design philosophy for AI to implement.Mar 2026

▶He views the current AI landscape as a period of major disruption, predicting that many incumbent companies will be displaced by new, AI-native alternatives over the next decade.Mar 2026

Points of debate

▶Anton has reversed his own earlier belief that foundation models would become commoditized, now arguing that the model providers themselves will become very valuable companies.Mar 2026

▶While predicting exponential AI growth in specialized domains like science and engineering, he also predicts a plateau for general-purpose models that require nuance across many areas.Mar 2026

▶Anton's strategy for AI startups—prioritizing rapid execution and growth before building defensibility—contrasts with traditional venture advice that often emphasizes establishing a moat early on.Mar 2026

▶He expresses a complex competitive view, identifying OpenAI as a more serious short-term threat to Lovable than Anthropic due to user experience, despite Lovable's own platform relying heavily on Anthropic's models for code writing.Mar 2026

Key themes

▶Lovable's 'Co-Founder' Product Vision

Anton's core strategy is to position Lovable not just as a development tool, but as an all-in-one 'co-founder' for businesses. This vision extends from being a 'technical co-founder' to eventually handling administrative, financial, and growth marketing functions, aiming to manage the entire business lifecycle by the end of 2026.

Investors should assess Lovable's ability to execute on this extremely ambitious roadmap, as its success depends on moving far beyond its current technical focus into crowded and complex domains like finance and marketing automation.

▶The AI Model Landscape and Competitive DynamicsMar 2026

Anton provides detailed commentary on the state of foundation models, believing the best will remain closed-source and that providers will become highly valuable. He makes specific comparisons, favoring Grok's team trajectory over OpenAI's and noting GPT-5's superiority for difficult problems while using Anthropic for code generation.

Anton's investment thesis (long Grok, short OpenAI) is based heavily on qualitative factors like team morale and trajectory, suggesting he values organizational health as a key predictor of success in the competitive AI space.

▶The Inevitable AI-Driven Disruption of WorkMar 2026

Anton forecasts a radical shift in knowledge work, predicting a future where humans no longer write code and the design process is led by high-level human philosophy rather than detailed implementation. He is concerned about the societal impact, specifically the potential for unrest among displaced white-collar workers.

His focus on the 100x productivity boost for senior engineers, versus a more limited 10x boost for juniors, implies a belief that AI will augment expertise more than it will replace it, potentially widening the skill gap.

▶Geographic Startup Strategy: Europe vs. USMar 2026

Anton articulates a clear trade-off in building a company in Stockholm versus a US tech hub. He acknowledges the disadvantage of a less-developed network of experienced multinational scalers in Europe but highlights the significant advantage of being the top 'talent magnet' in a smaller ecosystem.

This perspective suggests that for certain startups, dominating a local talent market can be a more effective strategy than competing for talent in a saturated, hyper-competitive environment like San Francisco.

Source episodes

Timeline

Earlier belief

Anton held the belief that foundation models would eventually be commoditized.

A few months prior to interview

Applications built on the Lovable platform were generating over $10 million in ARR that was passed through to AI model providers, indicating significant scale.

Current Period

Anton has reversed his stance, now believing model providers will become very valuable companies. He also assesses GPT-5 as not being a step-function improvement over previous models.

Next 12 months

Views OpenAI as a more serious potential competitor to Lovable than Anthropic.

By end of 2026

Articulates a vision for Lovable to become an all-in-one platform managing the entire business lifecycle, from idea to growth marketing.

Next decade

Predicts that many incumbent companies will be disrupted by new, AI-native companies.

Suggested prompts

How does Anton's 'growth first, defensibility later' strategy align with Lovable's business model, which passes the majority of revenue to model providers? &nearr;What specific market signals caused Anton to reverse his position on the commoditization of foundation models? &nearr;How does Lovable's reliance on Anthropic for code writing square with Anton's view that OpenAI is a bigger competitor with a superior user experience? &nearr;What are the primary risks to Lovable's vision of becoming an 'all-in-one co-founder' by 2026, especially when expanding into non-technical domains like finance and marketing? &nearr;

Key concepts

Lovable Product Strategy 12 ep AI Foundation Models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok) 10 ep AI Industry Predictions 5 ep Future of Work & Societal Impact 4 ep Startup Strategy 3 ep European Tech Ecosystem 2 ep Business Disruption 1 ep AI Engineering Productivity 1 ep

Notable quotes

“[1:05:12 -> 1:05:38] i'd invest in groks and i would um short... open a let's say why why would you buy that grok and short open a i think it's more the slope on the Grok team.”

Anton · Lovable CEO, Anton Osika: The State of Foundation Models, Grok vs OpenAI, and Replit vs Bolt

“[0:36:43 -> 0:36:47] because we know for a world where humans don't write code anymore. [0:36:47 -> 0:36:49] And we're quickly moving there.”

Anton · Lovable CEO, Anton Osika: The State of Foundation Models, Grok vs OpenAI, and Replit vs Bolt

“[1:01:16 -> 1:01:37] It's your perfect co-founder that you go to with your idea from the idea stage, but also all the way up to growing your business...optimizing your communication with your customers, be it through email or through different marketing channels”

Anton · Lovable CEO, Anton Osika: The State of Foundation Models, Grok vs OpenAI, and Replit vs Bolt

“[0:18:18 -> 0:18:24] that's it yeah like capability wise it hasn't been a step function improvement in what we had before”

Anton · Lovable CEO, Anton Osika: The State of Foundation Models, Grok vs OpenAI, and Replit vs Bolt

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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