Bolt.new launched in October 2024 as StackBlitz’s application of its WebContainer technology to AI-driven app generation. WebContainers — StackBlitz’s flagship innovation allowing Node.js to run natively in the browser using WebAssembly — provided Bolt with a unique capability: a complete development environment, including package installation, build tools, and a running dev server, entirely within the browser tab.
This architecture eliminated setup friction: users could describe an application in natural language and receive a fully running, editable, deployable web application within seconds. The AI agent could write code, install npm packages, run build commands, and iterate on errors — all in the browser sandbox.
Bolt.new reached 7 million users and $40 million ARR by March 2025, with the bolt.diy fork making the capability available as a self-hosted open-source application. The project accelerated the “vibe coding” trend — the practice of describing desired software behavior in natural language and iterating conversationally — particularly among developers who valued zero-friction app generation.