Startups are usually desperate for cash. But when enterprise clients started waving seven-figure checks at Supabase, co-founder Paul Copplestone did the unthinkable: he said no.
He refused to customize his product for big corporations, betting that a pure, developer-focused tool would eventually be worth more.
He was right.
In October 2025, Supabase hit a $5.12 billion valuation. They are now the default backend for the AI boom, powering the next generation of "vibe coding" startups.
Here is how two indie hackers turned a side project into a unicorn without selling their souls.
🚀 By The Numbers: The Supabase Rocket Ship
| Metric | The Stats (2025) |
|---|---|
| Valuation | $5.12 Billion |
| Developers | 4 Million+ |
| Revenue Growth | 250% Year-Over-Year |
| Funding | $100M Series E (Total raised >$500M) |
| Status | The #1 Open Source Alternative to Firebase |
The Problem: Trapped by Google
In 2020, Paul Copplestone and Ant Wilson were just two developers with a headache.
They were building a chat app using Google’s Firebase. It was fast and easy, but it had a fatal flaw: once you were in, you were trapped. As their app grew, Firebase became expensive and restrictive.
