Hostinger has named Giedrius Zakaitis as its new CEO, moving the former Chief Product and Technology Officer into the top role as the company accelerates a shift from web hosting to an AI-first strategy. The leadership change, announced alongside a 51% year-over-year revenue increase to €275.4 million in 2025, signals that AI is now the central engine of Hostinger's product development and operational efficiency.
Zakaitis started at the company 14 years ago answering customer support tickets. "Back then, getting a small business online meant fighting with technology, which was too complicated for most people," Zakaitis said. "That is still the problem we solve, now with AI doing the hard parts. My focus is simple: make sure anyone with an idea can build it and run it, even if they never write a line of code, and run the company itself smarter and faster because of AI."
An AI-first product lineup
The company's pivot to an AI-first model is already visible in its product portfolio. Over the past year, Hostinger launched four AI products, including Hostinger Horizons, a vibe coding tool, and Reach, an AI-powered email marketing platform. This AI for Executives & Strategy shift focuses on delivering AI tools that let small business owners create and manage digital operations without technical expertise.
The push into AI Agents & Automation is equally deliberate. An internal tool called Kodee evolved from a simple chatbot into an agent that now handles more than 500 admin-level tasks, including access to and control of users' IT systems. Hostinger estimates Kodee saved roughly €14 million in operational costs in 2026. "Customer obsession was the guiding principle behind Hostinger's growth," Zakaitis said. "Agents and bots now create more of the internet's traffic than people do, and we're building for them too, because behind every agent is the same customer, acting on their behalf."
Sustained growth under outgoing leadership
Daugirdas Jankus, who stepped down as CEO but will remain with the company to work on strategic projects, led Hostinger through a period of rapid expansion. In 2026, the company ranked second in the Financial Times & Statista Long-term Growth Champions: Europe 2026 report, which measures sustained revenue growth over a decade. "Giedrius has led product brilliantly and is the right person to run the whole company and turn AI's potential into real growth," Jankus said.
Hostinger now serves more than 5 million users across 150 countries, with its largest markets including India, Brazil, Indonesia, the United States, and France. The company, founded in Lithuania in 2004, employs nearly 900 people.
Why this matters for Executives and Strategy
Hostinger's CEO transition is a clear signal that AI has moved from a supporting role to the core of the business. The company didn't just add AI features-it reorganized its leadership around an AI-first mandate, with a product and technology expert at the top. For executives, the €14 million in operational savings from an internal AI agent demonstrates that automation can deliver hard cost reductions, not just efficiency gains. The simultaneous revenue growth shows that an AI pivot can be executed without disrupting top-line momentum, a crucial proof point for any leadership team weighing a similar transformation.
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