Meet Budibase, a low-code, open-source web app builder with automations

While there are differing views on the extent to which no-code and low-code development tools may eventually supplant human software developers, it is clear that any software that takes care of the technical “heavy lifting” has a tremendous impact on companies – in in terms of opening up app development to more staff, bridging the talent gap and helping existing developers focus on more challenging tasks.

A quick look at the recent funding landscape shows little sign of the no-code/low-code movement slowing down. In 2022 alone, companies like Webflow raised $120 million for a no-code website builder; Softr Raises $13.5M Series A To Help Enterprises Build Apps On Airtable Databases; Appsmith Secures $41M Series B to Power Custom Internal Business Applications; Retool receives $45 million in funding for similar venture; and Thunkable Secure $30M Investment in No-Code Mobile App Development Platform.

Despite the broader downturn, 2022 seems to have been a relatively benign year for startups operating in the no- and low-code space, something fledgling Northern Ireland startup Budibase is starting to do with the announcement of a new £7 million funding tranche Dollar benefits continue to develop an open source web app builder.

Founded in Belfast in 2019, Budibase allows users to connect to an external data source – such as Postgres, MySQL, Oracle, Google Sheets or Airtable – and develop internal tools or business applications within minutes. Such apps can include anything from customer helpdesk applications, application tracking systems, and inventory management systems to admin panels, portals, and forms.

It’s also worth noting that Budibase also comes with its own built-in database powered by CouchDB for those who want to build apps completely from scratch.

“Every company we speak to says the same thing – ‘we have a long backlog of internal tool tickets holding us back,'” Budibase co-founder Joe Johnston told TechCrunch. “With Budibase, companies are creating internal tools and transforming workflows in days instead of months, representing a huge cost saving and a catalyst for innovation.”

open source

One of Budibase’s key selling points is that it’s open source, which gives companies more flexibility and extensibility, but also allows them to host everything themselves – this is especially important for companies with sensitive data that they may have before SaaS -y-catches want to protect third-party infrastructure.

Aside from the free self-hosted version of Budibase, the company also offers a range of premium and enterprise plans with extra features (like SLAs and unlimited automation logs) and a fully managed hosted incarnation.

Budibase is somewhat similar to other players in the open-source, low-code development space, including the aforementioned Appsmith and Joget, which coincidentally announced their first institutional funding earlier this year via a $2.2 million pre-Series A investment . So this underscores not only the demand for no- and low-code app builders, but also the ability to maintain full control over enterprise data and get full insights into what’s going on under the hood.

“Companies like this because they have access to the code base and can patch it if needed [which is useful for] Risk mitigation,” Johnston said.

Automation for the people

Budibase tries to stand out in several ways, through more subjective elements like ease of use, but also through specific differentiators like built-in automations that are comparable to something like Zapier.

In fact, Budibase includes automations powered by webhooks and actions that are ready to use, but also customizable by more tech-savvy people who want to throw in their own scripts. Such automations can cover any number of use cases, e.g. For example, automatically approving (or rejecting) an employee’s vacation request via an internal form, or issuing a new incoming lead notification to the sales team at the start of their shift.

“We want to provide a platform that helps developers and non-developers – but technical staff – innovate and accelerate their workplace,” said Johnston.

Budibase automation in action. Photo credit: Budibase

A quick look at Budibase’s homepage reveals a pretty impressive list of company logos, from Google and Netflix to Tesla and Disney. At first glance it looks like these are fully subscribed Budibase customers, but unfortunately that’s not the case – Budibase uses a tracking tool called Scarf to detect which domains are downloading the open source Budibase software . So that doesn’t really tell us much about it how Budibase is used in these companies, be it internally tested or just curious employees downloading it for their own interests.

“Employees from some of the companies mentioned are active in our community,” Johnston said. “For example, Scarf has told us that Google has shut down the Budibase Docker image over 150 times.”

Budibase had previously raised $1.8 million in seed funding, and its most recent $7 million “Seed II” funding round included investments from SignalFire, Angular Ventures, Techstart and a number of Angel backers.