Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami Downplays AI Threat to Jobs, Cites Market Challenges

Avishai Abrahami, founder and CEO of Wix, expressed skepticism that artificial intelligence will replace human workers, despite widespread market fears. Wix, a Nasdaq-listed company valued at $2.2 billion and known for its website-building platform, acquired Base44 last year, a company specializing in no-code app creation using natural language. The stock has dropped 65% over the past year amid concerns that AI advancements could harm Wix's business.

Recently, Wix laid off about 20% of its workforce, roughly 1,000 employees, leaving around 4,200 staff. The company attributed the cuts partly to the strengthening Israeli shekel and the need to adapt to AI developments by becoming leaner and faster. In a 20VC podcast interview, Abrahami criticized large language models (LLMs) as "not very smart" and prone to mistakes, noting Wix’s own disappointment with existing AI customer support tools led them to develop their own solutions.

Abrahami emphasized that he is not worried about AI replacing white-collar jobs and believes the market overestimates AI’s current capabilities. Wix generates about $400 million in free cash flow annually and has invested $200 million in Base44. He acknowledged the stock’s volatility, including a controversial $1.6 billion share buyback earlier this year at prices 75% above current levels, but stressed his focus remains on long-term business growth rather than short-term market fluctuations.

Describing his daily routine, Abrahami said he sleeps from around 5 or 6 a.m. until late morning, using quiet hours for focused work. He remains optimistic about Wix’s future, along with other ventures like Monday.com, highlighting their significant market potential. According to Wall Street Journal data, among 23 analysts covering Wix, 13 are positive, 9 neutral, and 1 negative, with an average price target nearly 50% above the current share price.

Summary: Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami downplays AI’s ability to replace human workers and highlights market misunderstandings about AI risks to SaaS companies. Despite a 65% stock drop and recent layoffs, he remains focused on long-term growth and innovation, particularly through the Base44 acquisition.

Points: - Wix CEO says AI will not replace human workers and is overhyped in its capabilities. - Wix laid off 20% of staff amid AI developments and currency challenges. - The company invested $200 million in Base44, a no-code app platform. - Wix stock dropped 65% last year but rebounded 30% from recent lows. - CEO criticizes large language models as error-prone and insufficient. - Wix conducted a $1.6 billion share buyback earlier this year at high prices.

Topic: tech

Entities: {"people":["Avishai Abrahami","Maor Shlomo"],"organizations":["Wix","Base44","Nasdaq","20VC","OpenAI","Anthropic","Google","Monday.com"],"places":["Israel"]}