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AWS has managed to enforce MFA for 100% of root usersThe achievement is a great advancement for the AWS cloud platformMore major security announcements were made at re:InforceAmazon Web Services (AWS) says it has managed to get 100% of root users to enforce multi-factor authentication across all account types.The news represents a significant milestone in security posture, with AWS fully meeting its past commitment to enforce the use of MFA for management and standalone accounts with root access.Chief Information Security Officer Amy Herzog made the milestone announcement at the company's AWS re:Inforce conference, stating, “I'm so happy to say that we now have 100 percent MFA enforcement for root users.”AWS continues voluntary commitmentsAs an achievement on its own, this is major, but what makes it even more impressive is that the 100% MFA root user account milestone is part of AWS’ voluntary commitments to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Secure By Design initiative.Multi-factor authentication has become a key part of most organizations' security structure, offering a phishing resistant verification method that can stop an attacker in their tracks even if they’ve got their hands on a stolen username and password.This wasn’t the only significant security announcement made at re:Inforce though – as AWS also announced some significant new feature that has been added to the platforms Identity and Access Management hub. Within the Access Analyzer, you can now check which users have access to critical resources on a central dashboard.The AWS Security Hub now offers notifications and signals ranked by their significance to help security teams deal with the most pressing issues first.“For example, Security Hub can combine the multi-stage threats detected by GuardDuty Extended Threat Detection with other signals like vulnerabilities, and prioritize critical security issues and help you simplify your overall cloud security operations across your entire organization,” Herzog said.Additionally, GuardDuty Extended Threat Detection now offers support for container-based applications running on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service.AWS Shield has also been boosted with a new network security director that looks for misconfigurations on the network that could be exploited during a distributed-denial-of-service attack, or SQL injection.You might also likeTake a look at my roundup of the best endpoint protection security softwareThese are my top picks for the best business VPNAWS reveals European Sovereign Cloud to allay fears about US providers

Leica has announced a new 35mm filmMonopan 50 is a fine-grain monochrome filmPriced at £10 (around US$13 / AU$20) for 36 exposuresLeica’s decided to celebrate its centenary with a surprise. To honor 100 years since the first production Leica camera, the brand with the red dot is dropping its first-ever 35mm film. A fine-grain monochrome roll with 36 exposures, it’s a niche product to launch in 2025. But the bigger bombshell is the price: the Monopan 50 costs just £10 (around US$13 / AU$20).Leica isn’t a brand often associated with affordability. Its camera gear is known for quality craftsmanship that’s priced to match. When I tested the Leica Q3 43 last year, I was both awestruck by the build quality and terrified of damaging it. Because it costs $6,295 / £5,900 / AU$11,890. Leica is and always has been an unapologetically premium brand.For most people, the prospect of buying or shooting with anything Leica sits somewhere between bucket list and lottery win territory. Until now, the most affordable way to shoot Leica has been the D-Lux 8 – a premium compact with a Micro Four Thirds sensor, which you can buy today for $1,595 / £1,450 / AU$2,790. Or cross all your fingers and toes in the hope of finding a secondhand analog Leica bargain.The Monopan 50 changes that. Granted, it’s a 35mm film, not a camera. But it also feels like the first Leica product that’s accessible enough for stills photographers to use on a daily basis.Leica for allThe Monopan 50 lands 100 years after the Leica I, the camera that effectively invented 35mm photography as we know it. Unlike most Leica releases, the new film feels like something to be used, not collected.That’s not to say it isn’t special. The Monopan 50 is a fine-grain monochrome film made for black-and-white enthusiasts. With a resolution of up to 280 line pairs per millimetre, it promises gallery-grade detail. Its ISO rating of just 50 makes it a low-sensitivity film, inspired by the the original rolls around when the Leica I launched. In that sense, it’s as Leica as it gets. But crucially, it’s not outrageously expensive. In fact, quite the opposite.Even for someone like me who doesn’t regularly shoot film, that’s a compelling proposition. It’s even more appealing for those who do, of which are there more and more.Film photography isn’t just back: it’s quietly booming. Prices for vintage cameras have surged and new analog releases are arriving in greater numbers. Fujifilm is rumored to be resurrecting color stocks, Kodak is upgrading its factories to meet demand and Pentax dropped its new half-frame film camera last year. All of which speaks of a new generation rediscovering film.It’s into this analog revival that Leica steps. The company still produces three fully mechanical 35mm film cameras, the M-A, the MP and the re-released M6. Equipped with high-quality optics and designed for a deliberate approach, all three are expensive models which cater to purists.In that sense, the Monopan 50 is a natural companion. Feeding those cameras with a fine-grain black-and-white film will yield gorgeous results, while leaning into the slower, almost meditative experience of shooting with a 35mm rangefinder camera.But the wider appeal of Monopan 50 film will lie in the fact that it’s democratic. With roll prices for standard emulsions creeping past £10 a pop, a tenner for 36 exposures of premium monochrome film feels like a bit of a steal. That it comes from Leica only sweetens the deal.(Image credit: Leica Monopan)Next to the metal-bodied cameras that made its name, there’s something refreshingly humble about the most attainable Leica product in recent memory being a roll of plastic-coated acetate. But it also makes sense. As film becomes more mainstream again, brands are waking up to the fact that the audience has shifted.It’s no longer just enthusiasts developing Ilford rolls in a home darkroom. It’s Gen Z photographers looking for slower, more tactile ways to create. And if they’re going to spend their cash on film, why not give them a reason to spend it on Leica?Yes, the real cost of shooting Leica body and glass is in the thousands. But Monopan 50 at least opens the door. More than a nod to Leica’s past, it might be a sign of a different future for the brand, where more people are able to handle and shoot something with the Leica name on it.Obviously, Leica would love you to pair Monopan 50 with an M-A or an MP. Maybe a vintage M6. But even with a Nikon F, or one of the best second-hand film cameras, its potential for fine detail and tonality is exciting.Either way, I’m intrigued. Low-ISO film isn’t always easy to shoot, especially in the UK, where overcast conditions are the default. But the Monopan 50 feels like a film worth trying. Not just for what it can do, but for what it represents: Leica, leaning back towards the medium it helped to define a century ago, in a way that’s unexpectedly accessible.So I didn’t expected to be buying Leica stock this year. But now I’m planning to.You might also like...Best film cameras 2025: the finest classic and new analog cameras you can buyGen Z is the new point-and-shoot generation, and I love itPentax 17 review: a modern analog charmer

Asana AI-powered tool had a bug which exposed user data to other usersIt was fixed after a month, but users should be on their guardPopular project management platform Asana is warning users a newly-introduced tool may have leaked their data to others on the serviceResearch from security experts UpGuard noted in early May 2025, Asana introduced Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a tool that lets AI products such as ChatGPT or Copilot interact with Asana’s Work Graph.This allows users to query for information using natural language, manage their tasks and projects with the help of AI, and get real-time updates using the MCP standard.Save up to 52% off Lifelock Identity Theft Protection!Your personal info is in endless places. And any one of them could accidentally expose you to identity theft. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for identity theft. LifeLock. For the threats you can't control.Preferred partner (What does this mean?)View DealA month of leaksHowever, the tool was implemented with a bug that exposed data from Asana instances to other MCP users.Not all data was exposed, though, as it was limited to each user’s access scope.Still, given that many enterprises rely on Asana when managing important tasks and large projects, it could mean sensitive information was leaked (such as project metadata, team details, discussions, uploaded files, and similar).Asana apparently discovered the bug on June 4, meaning the platform was leaking data for a month - the company is sending out notices with links to communication forms to impacted organizations, but apart from that it’s staying relatively silent on the matter.We don’t know if any users suffered any meaningful damage as a result of this flaw, but the company did tell BleepingComputer that it impacted roughly 1,000 customers. It has more than 130,000 paying customers all over the world including, according to some sources, heavy hitters such as Spotify, Uber, or Airbnb.In any case, users should review Asana logs for MCP access, review generated AI summaries, and report to Asana if they see information seemingly coming in from a separate organization.Furthermore, users are advised to set LLM integration to restricted access and pause auto-reconnections and bot pipelines for the time being.You might also likeOne of Google's "big AI" projects uncovered some serious security threats seemingly all on its ownTake a look at our guide to the best authenticator appWe've rounded up the best password managers

Looking for a different day?A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, June 18 (game #738).Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Connections today (game #739) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…FINALDESTINATIONTRAINSTOPSBLOCKSBALLMASKSPAPERSFOILSJACKSJACKETSROUTEATTENDANCEGLOVESSTARTING POINTHOMEWORKNYT Connections today (game #739) - hint #1 - group hintsWhat are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: Student essentialsGREEN: Sat-nav staplesBLUE: Play timePURPLE: Stick em with the pointy endNeed more clues?We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…NYT Connections today (game #739) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: COMPONENTS OF ONE’S GRADEGREEN: MAP APP OPTIONSBLUE: CLASSIC TOYSPURPLE: FENCING GEARRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Connections today (game #739) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #739, are…YELLOW: COMPONENTS OF ONE’S GRADE ATTENDANCE, FINAL, HOMEWORK, PAPERSGREEN: MAP APP OPTIONS DESTINATION, ROUTE, STARTING POINT, STOPSBLUE: CLASSIC TOYS BALL, BLOCKS, JACKS, TRAINPURPLE: FENCING GEAR FOILS, GLOVES, JACKETS, MASKSMy rating: ModerateMy score: 1 mistakeI couldn't live without my sav-nav app. I can't imagine how people managed to get themselves to the right place without them, particularly driving – and particularly driving in a city.I guess the answer is that they sometimes didn't; I'm old enough to remember plenty of road trips with my parents spent sitting in the back seat while they argued over a map and found themselves stuck in a one-way street to the wrong side of a town. Happy days.Maybe that's why I solved green, MAP APP OPTIONS, first, with DESTINATION, ROUTE, STARTING POINT and STOPS all jumping out at me early on.After that I was a little stuck and got 'one away' with purple before correctly identifying that FOILS, GLOVES, MASKS and JACKETS were all types of FENCING GEAR.Yellow was COMPONENTS OF ONE’S GRADE, but that one confused me slightly; is ATTENDANCE really a part of a grade? I guess it is in the sense that if you never go to school you won't get a good mark, but it's not like anyone gets a B rather than an A because they had an extra couple of days off sick. Maybe this one got lost in translation between the US and UK…How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, June 18, game #738)YELLOW: QUALITIES OF A RAINY DAY COLD, GRAY, WET, WINDYGREEN: SQUARELY DEAD, EXACTLY, RIGHT, SMACKBLUE: CONTENTS OF A POD ASTRONAUT, COFFEE, PEA, WHALEPURPLE: BODY PART PLUS A STARTING LETTER BARM, LEAR, RANKLE, SHIPWhat is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, June 18 (game #472).Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Strands today (game #473) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Life is a highwayNYT Strands today (game #473) - hint #2 - clue wordsPlay any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.MOLEROLEMORALSCENECOATHOOTNYT Strands today (game #473) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?• Spangram has 8 lettersNYT Strands today (game #473) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?First side: bottom, 4th columnLast side: top, 3rd columnRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Strands today (game #473) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Strands, game #473, are…SCENERYGAMESPLAYLISTMOTELPHOTOSAUDIOBOOKSPANGRAM: ROAD TRIPMy rating: EasyMy score: PerfectThe theme clue rather gave this one away, so it wasn't a particularly tough strands to complete, but it did make me think about planning my own next ROAD TRIP.I do love a nice road trip, although the ones you do in the UK are not really on a par with those in the US, given that you could drive from the far north to the far south in a day, albeit a long one. In the States, of course, you could drive for a week and not get across the country (unless you didn't stop to sleep).All the more reason why you might need a good PLAYLIST, plenty of AUDIOBOOKs, some GAMES for the kids in the back and lots of breaks to take PHOTOS of the SCENERY.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, June 18, game #472)BLUEGLOOMYTEARYDOLEFULWOEBEGONEMELANCHOLYSPANGRAM: SADNESSWhat is NYT Strands?Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, June 18 (game #1241).Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.Quordle today (game #1242) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). Quordle today (game #1242) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.Quordle today (game #1242) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.Quordle today (game #1242) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:Quordle today (game #1242) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• B• I• F• PRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.Quordle today (game #1242) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle, game #1242, are…BRUSHISLETFRUITPRIVYI had no major problems with today's Quordle, on account of their being no repeated letters, no uncommon letters and no particularly obscure words.ISLET was probably the hardest, even though I had all five letters for it; assembling them into a word proved a surprisingly tricky feat. But I got there in the end. The Daily Sequence, meanwhile, was a much harder beast on account of PUPAL and GAUZE being included.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Daily Sequence today (game #1242) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1242, are…TEASEMOVIEPUPALGAUZEQuordle answers: The past 20Quordle #1241, Wednesday, 18 June: MEDIA, SHARK, GUPPY, MOURNQuordle #1240, Tuesday, 17 June: LEAPT, PRISM, ADMIN, WHINEQuordle #1239, Monday, 16 June: RETRY, SCALD, DINGO, FEIGNQuordle #1238, Sunday, 15 June: SHOCK, STEIN, BROIL, COVENQuordle #1237, Saturday, 14 June: STICK, FERRY, THESE, IONICQuordle #1236, Friday, 13 June: REPEL, LARGE, SNIDE, CARRYQuordle #1235, Thursday, 12 June: SCANT, BATCH, UNDER, PARSEQuordle #1234, Wednesday, 11 June: CRAVE, ROOST, ANGLE, FLOODQuordle #1233, Tuesday, 10 June: DECRY, CHEEK, FILET, EASELQuordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVELQuordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUMEQuordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAPQuordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKYQuordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCEQuordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPOQuordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORSTQuordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULEQuordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHIDQuordle #1223, Saturday, 31 May: CRUMB, ELFIN, DRIER, QUITEQuordle #1222, Friday, 30 May: RAJAH, CAUSE, BLACK, ETUDE

LLMs have been plagued by hallucinations from the very start. Developers are investing huge amounts of money and time into improving these models, yet the problem remains: hallucinations are rife. And in fact, some of the newest models – as OpenAI confessed to on its recent launch of o3 and o4-mini – hallucinate even more than previous ones.Not only do these programs hallucinate, but they also essentially remain ‘black boxes’. Hallucinations are hard to defend against, because they are the result of random chance. The answers simply seem plausible, serving some basic use cases, but requiring extensive human oversight. Their hallucinations remain imperceptible to non-subject matter experts.These two problems present major barriers to AI’s widespread adoption, especially in regulated industries like law and healthcare where accuracy and explainability are paramount. It’s ironic, since these industries are at the same time often the most likely to benefit from software that can automate information processing at scale. So if current models are failing to overcome these barriers, where can we go from here?Why most AI is fundamentally untrustworthy, and getting worseLarge Language Models, or LLMs, have taken the world by storm over the past few years. This type of software uses predictive algorithms to produce outputs in response to inputs in the form of text. They’re incredible pieces of technology, but nobody knows exactly how they produce specific outputs. The answers they produce simply happen to satisfy our requests… until they don’t.Since LLMs use statistics to determine their outputs, they occasionally come up with answers or responses that are incorrect. Just as when somebody bets on a horse in a race, even if they were to account for all the variables that could affect all of the competitors’ performances, they’ll occasionally be wrong. When LLMs do this, we refer to it as a ‘hallucination’.Hallucinations are inherent to LLMs; one cannot have an LLM without them, since they’re statistically prone to them. And because LLMs do not truly understand the information they receive and produce, they’re unable to notify users when they do it. That’s problematic for everyone, but especially so in applications where the stakes are much higher: in law or healthcare, for example.What symbolic reasoning is, and why it's key to reliable AIAs OpenAI has essentially just confessed, nobody knows how to solve this problem using current generative AI models. There is, however, a way to solve it using another model: a type of AI that uses ‘symbolic reasoning’ to address the faults inherent to LLMs.Symbolic reasoning is an old, well-established method for encoding knowledge using clear, logical rules. It represents facts as static pieces of knowledge, meaning that it’s not possible for software to manipulate or interpret them incorrectly. It’s the same kind of technology that allows us to perform calculations and run formulae on spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel (people don’t check twice to see if the calculation is correct or not). Symbolic systems prove their trustworthiness through determinism – the same inputs to a symbolic system should always produce the same outcome; this is something an LLM could never guarantee.Unlike LLMs, symbolic AI allows users to see exactly how it has made a decision, step by step, without hallucinating the explanations. When it doesn’t understand the input, or can’t calculate the answer, it can tell the user so: just as when we receive error messages on Excel if a formula is input incorrectly. This means that symbolic systems are truly transparent and traceable.How neurosymbolic models could be the future of enterprise-grade, auditable AIThe reason why we don’t just use symbolic models for generative AI programs is because they’re not particularly good at processing language. They lack the flexibility of LLMs. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses.The solution to this, then, is to combine the strengths of both to create a new category of AI: ‘neurosymbolic AI’. Neurosymbolic AI benefits from both the rules-based features of symbolic AI and the flexibility of the neural networks that underpin LLMs. This allows users to perform functions that process unstructured information in documents, while following a formula that provides structured answers the software is able to explain.This development is crucial to the adoption of effective AI within business, but especially in heavily-regulated industries. In those contexts, it’s not good enough to say that a certain outcome has been generated and we don’t know how the program has come to that answer, but it looks about right. It’s imperative, above all, to understand how the program has come to its decision. That’s where neurosymbolic AI comes in.What’s special about doing things this way is that neurosymbolic AI will admit when it cannot produce an accurate response. LLMs don’t, and will often produce convincing answers anyway. It’s easy to see how this can be hugely useful in insurance, for example, where a neurosymbolic AI program could automatically process claims, flagging cases to trained humans when it’s unsure of the suitable outcome. LLMs would just make something up.It’s time for us to recognize that, while they’ve certainly pushed the technology forward, our current models of AI have reached an insurmountable wall. We need to take the lessons from the progress we’ve made and seek other solutions that will allow us to approach from a different angle. The most promising of these solutions is neurosymbolic AI. With it, we’ll be able to foster trust in a technology that, in its current format, has none.We've featured the best AI website builder.This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Wix announced buying Base44Base44 is a popular low code/no code platform powered by AIIt will remain a separate entityWix.com, one of the best website builders in the world, is jumping on the vibe coding bandwagon with the acquisition of Base44.This morning, the company shared a press release with TechRadar Pro, in which it announced its purchase of the AI-powered platform that “enables anyone to create fully functional, custom software solutions and applications using natural language, without the need for traditional coding.”Wix bought Base44 for $80 million, and agreed to possibly pay even more through 2029, depending on how well Base44 performs. It did not detail which metrics it will be tracking in that respect.Base44 will not be merged into Wix but will instead remain a distinct product and business, the company confirmed. It doesn’t expect the acquisition to be felt in its 2025 bookings and revenue, too. “We expect to incur approximately $25 million in retention bonus payments paid to Base44 employees in 2025 as part of the above initial consideration paid on the transaction, which will be excluded from non-GAAP and free cash flow (FCF) results,” the press release reads.According to Similarlabs, Base44 has more than 40,000 users, making it a rather popular solution among web app builders, particularly those looking to bypass conventional development hurdles. It comes with built-in services like database management, user authentication, email, analytics, storage, hosting, and even domain/DNS setup. It has a drag-and-drop interface, as of recently also supported by a conversational AI chatbot.AI galoreIn recent times, Wix has been aggressively adding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) across its suite of products and solutions. In December 2024, it demonstrated AI Site-Chat, a feature designed to serve as a virtual agent for customers. In January 2025, it released Business Launcher, an AI-powered tool designed to help entrepreneurs create new business initiatives, from concept to execution, and a few months later, in May, it introduced the Wix Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, which enables users to generate code through AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf.“This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone in Wix’s commitment to transforming creation online,” said Avishai Abrahami, CEO and Co-founder of Wix. “Maor and his team at Base44 bring cutting-edge technology, strong market penetration, and visionary leadership that seamlessly align with Wix’s dedication to enabling users at all levels of expertise to express their intent while intelligent agents manage execution. "For Maor Shlomo, CEO of Base44, there isn’t a better fit than Wix.“Wix is probably the only company that can help Base44 achieve the scale and distribution it needs while maintaining, if not accelerating, our product velocity," he said. “Our market is massive. It has the potential to replace entire software categories by enabling people to create software instead of buying it. Wix’s DNA – its customer obsession, innovation, and speed – perfectly aligns with ours, and its scale will catapult Base44 forward at exactly the right time.”You can read this insightful blog post from Avishai Abrahami to learn more about the acquisition and Wix's AI vision.Comment from the expertGiven all the buzz around vibe coding, I was expecting Wix to jump into the space in some way, shape, or form in the coming months.Although the world's biggest website builder isn't the first through the 'vibe' party door, Hostinger launched its own vibe coding platform called 'Horizons' back in February of this year, that doesn't mean it is behind. By acquiring Base44, Wix has skipped a stage of major development, helping it unlock an industry leading product without having to go through the often problematic early iterations.Given Wix's commitment to becoming an all-in-one platform for businesses, I am surprised by the decision not to integrate Base44 into the Wix platform. I asked Wix if you would need a separate membership for Base44 - you will - although there is currently a free plan available so you can give it a go without having to pay for yet another subscription.The press release didn't mention any plans to add the Base44 platform to Wix, I suspect that may be in the pipeline, but when that might be is unclear.More from TechRadar ProWix just opened the door to quicker and easier coding with new AI toolLearn more with our full Wix reviewWix teams up with ActiveCampaign to help customers grow