AI coding startups are becoming a hotspot for VCs. Here are the 12 copilots that have landed funding from funds like a16z, Lightspeed, and Menlo Ventures.
This tech, which automates parts of the coding process and offers real-time assistance to developers, aims to reduce the time and complexity involved in writing software. By upping productivity and eliminating repetitive tasks, AI copilots let developers focus on more creative and strategic aspects of programming.
"I'm really high on AI coding assistants," Menlo Ventures partner Tim Tully recently told Business Insider. "Opportunities in this space are pretty compelling."
Kanu Gulati, a partner at Khosla Ventures, is also searching for AI copilots that could be a valuable investment. Last year, she invested in Korbit, an "AI mentor" that reviews code and teaches engineers how to fix problems.
According to PitchBook, US VC deal activity for generative AI coding tools has grown in the last year, from more than $420 million in all of 2023 to more than $780 million so far in 2024 (PitchBook's analysis includes deals through September 27).
The deal count was down during that same time period; however, 50 deals were done in this space during all of 2023, compared to 35 so far this year through September 2024.
Business Insider partnered with PitchBook to identify which AI coding and copilot startups have raised the most money so far from VCs like a16z, Lightspeed Venture Partners, solo capitalist Elad Gil, and others. The startups are listed in descending order based on the size of their most recent funding round.
Poolside raised a $500 million Series B in October 2024.
Poolside co-founders Eiso Kant (left, CTO) Jason Warner (right, CEO)
Poolside
Founded in 2023, the San Francisco-based startup is building its own foundation models, API, and coding assistants to bring generative AI to software developers. Poolside has so far raised $626 million in VC funding, and its notable investors are Bain Capital Ventures, DST Global, Felicis Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures.
Magic raised a $117 million Series B in February 2024. It announced $320 million in additional funding in August 2024.
Magic cofounders Eric Steinberger and Sebastian De Ro.
Magic
Magic uses generative AI to create code and automate software development tasks. Founded in 2022, the San Francisco-based startup raised a $117 Series B in February 2024, led by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross's NFDG Ventures. CapitalG and Elad Gil also participated.
In August, Magic said it raised an additional $320 million from a spate of investors, including Eric Schmidt, Jane Street, Sequoia, and Atlassian, as well as Friedman, Gross, Gil, and CapitalG. This brought the startup's total funding to $515 million.
Augment raised a $227 million Series B in April 2024, which valued the startup at $997 million.
Augment is building AI coding assistance software for engineering teams. The startup emerged from stealth in April 2024 and announced its $227 million Series B funding round at a $977 million post-money valuation, which included investments from Sutter Hill Ventures, Index Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Meritech Capital. The startup previously raised a $25 million Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures.
Anysphere raised a $60 million Series A at a $400 million valuation in August 2024.
Anysphere, a startup founded in 2022 that is creating an AI code editor called Cursor, raised a $60 million Series A funding round at a $400 million post-money valuation, according to TechCrunch.
Business Insider first reported that Anysphere was raising a new funding round at a $400 million valuation from a16z. Thrive Capital co-led the round, and Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison also participated.
Previously, the startup raised an $8 million seed funding round in July 2023 that valued the company at $56.5 million, according to PitchBook. The round was led by OpenAI Startup Fund, with participation from BoxGroup, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, and Dropbox cofounder Arash Ferdowsi.
Mintlify raised an $18 million Series A in August 2024 led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Mintlify co-founders Han Wang and Hahnbee Lee
Mintlify
Founded in 2022, Mintlify uses AI to automate software documentation. Based in San Francisco, the startup was a member of Y Combinator's W22 batch, and it's raised $21 million so far in VC funding. In addition to a16z and Y Combinator, BCV is also an investor.
Zenlytic raised a $9 million Series A funding round in October 2024.
Ryan Janssen, CEO and Co-founder of Zenlytic
Zenlytic
New York-based Zenlytic is a business intelligence platform that considers generative AI to be a "co-worker" — rather than a copilot — that is capable of analyzing data and answering complex questions. The startup has raised $15 million total in VC funding since it was founded in 2020, and its investors include Bain Capital Ventures, M13 Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and Primary Ventures.
Seek AI raised a $9 million seed round in 2023.
Headshot of Sarah Nagy, CEO of Seek AI
Seek AI
Founded in 2021, New York-based Seek AI is building a platform for people to build code by using natural, everyday language. The startup raised a $9 million seed round in 2023, and it's disclosed $10.5 million in VC funding from investors Battery Ventures and Conviction Partners.
Espresso AI raised a $9 million seed funding round in November 2023.
Espresso AI co-founders Ben Lerner, Alex Kouzemtchenko, and Juri Ganitkevitch
Espresso AI
Brooklyn-based Espresso AI is tackling the rising expenses associated with cloud computing. Its generative AI analyzes queries and optimizes them to save time and money.
Founded in 2023, the startup has raised $11 million in VC funding, the most recent being its $9 million seed round in November 2023. Espresso's notable investors include Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and FirstMark Capital's Matt Turck.
Dosu raised an $8 million seed funding round in June 2024.
Dosu founder Devin Stein
Dosu
Dosu is an AI teammate that that cleans up code and manages tedious tasks so developers can focus on work that adds value. Founded in 2023, the San Francisco-based startup has raised $9.5 million total in VC funding, and its $8 million seed round was led by Innovation Endeavors's Davis Treybig.
Blitzy raised $4.4 million in September 2024.
Blitzy cofounders Brian Elliott and Sid Pardeshi
Blitzy
Based in Boston and founded by a former Nvidia engineer, Blitzy builds AI copilots to automate coding. The startup, which was spun out of the Harvard Innovation Lab, was funded by Link Ventures, Bessemer, Flybridge, NFX, Picus, and Asymmetric.
Granola raised a $4.25 million seed funding round in May 2023.
Granola co-founders Chris Pedregal and Sam Stephenson
Granola
Based in London, Granola is a productivity tool that combines AI-generated transcripts with a person's notes to create better meeting notes with generative AI.
As the startup grows, Lightspeed Venture Partners, which led Granola's seed funding round, explained that the tech will combine AI, code editing, and knowledge work to increase productivity in the workplace. Granola's other investors include Betaworks, Mike Krieger, and Nat Friedman.
Ellipsis raised a $2 million seed round in April 2024 as part of Y Combinator's W24 batch.
Nick Bradford and Hunter Brooks, Ellipsis co-founders
Ellipsis
A member of Y Combinator's W24 batch, Ellipsis automatically reviews code, catches errors, and can enforce a team's style guide. The startup was founded in 2023 and is based in New York. Dalton Caldwell led Y Combinator's investment in Ellipsis, and its additional investors are Twenty Two Ventures and Transpose Platform.
