They said it couldn't be done

Vercel

2016dev-tools3 receipts

7.2y laterthe receipts proved wrong

What they said

“Javascript development on the web has become such a mess... The web has become an overengineered mess.”

What actually happened

Usage

Next.js downloaded 27M times per week; 1M+ Vercel developers

by January 2024

The Founder

Guillermo Rauch@rauchg· Just a React wrapper — now the standard for deploying the webActive

The Numbers

Launched2016

Founder1

Next.js open-sourced as 'a small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps'

Oct 2016

Series A: $21M; company rebrands from ZEIT to Vercel

Apr 2020

Series C: $102M at $2.5B valuation

Jun 2021

Series D: $150M at $2.5B valuation

May 2022

Series E: $250M at $3.25B valuation

May 2023

Next.js downloaded 27M times per week; 1M+ Vercel developers

Jan 2024

The Journey

October 2016
Launch
Next.js 1.0 open-sourced. HN: 'another JS framework, web is overengineered mess.'
January 2018
Milestone
Next.js 5.0 with TypeScript support; downloads begin doubling quarter-over-quarter.
February 2019
Milestone
Next.js 8.0 with serverless functions. Used by Nike, Hulu, Auth0.
October 2020
Milestone
Next.js 10 launches with Image Optimization, Internationalization, Analytics.
October 2022
Milestone
Next.js 13 launches App Router and React Server Components — fundamental shift in web architecture.