Augment Inc., an AI coding assistance startup, has emerged from stealth with $252 million in funding at a near-unicorn valuation of $977 million. The company aims to empower software teams with AI, and upend the way software development is done today.
This recent round, led by high-profile investors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and VCs such as Index Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, marks a significant milestone in the rapidly evolving domain of generative AI technologies for software development.
The company's emergence from stealth mode not only highlights its promising start but also forecasts a disruptive future in the software industry, where annual spending exceeds $1 trillion yet often fails to meet business expectations in terms of program functionality and maintenance costs.
"Software engineering is rapidly evolving into a collaboration between human and artificial intelligence," said Igor Ostrovsky, co-founder of Augment Inc. "At Augment, we are working with extraordinary focus to empower teams around the world with AI, enabling them to build better software."
Augment's AI platform is designed to have an expert understanding of codebases, operate at the speed of thought, support teams instead of just individuals, and carefully protect intellectual property. Early customers, like Keeta, have reported a more than 40% increase in developer productivity across the board.
"AI has the potential to make software developers 10x more productive, but achieving this requires deep research into AI for code coupled with advanced systems engineering," explained Guy Gur-Ari, co-founder of Augment Inc.
The backing from influential venture capital firms underscores confidence in Augment’s approach to melding cutting-edge AI with software engineering. The $227 million Series B round (which brings its total funding to $252 million), will be used to accelerate product development and build out its product, engineering, and go-to-market functions as it prepares for rapid growth.