Shopify has acquired Tailwind Labs, bringing the widely used open-source CSS framework Tailwind CSS under its ownership after founder Adam Wathan said AI "vibe coding" tools had badly damaged the company's finances. Wathan announced the deal in a blog post, explaining he chose Shopify because it was an early adopter of Tailwind and offers a stable home where the framework can keep being developed as part of a genuine product, rather than languishing in the maintenance difficulties common to open-source projects.

Tailwind CSS, which simplifies web styling through utility classes and is installed more than 110 million times a week according to Wathan, will remain free and MIT-licensed, with his team continuing to lead its development under Shopify's support. However, the acquisition ends growth plans for Tailwind Labs' paid offerings: Tailwind Plus, its premium UI template package, and ui.sh, its AI skills tool for non-coders, are closing to new sign-ups, though existing paying customers retain access. Wathan had already cut three jobs in January after AI coding tools eroded traffic and revenue by inserting themselves between Tailwind and its customers.