British AI start-up lands $750m valuation nine months after creation
British AI start-up Tessl has landed a $750m valuation just nine months after being created as it looks to revamp how computer programmers create software.
The London-based firm, founded in February, has raised $100m in a Series A venture capital round led by Index Ventures. Other backers include Accel Partners, GV and boldstart.
The investment comes on top of a previously undisclosed $25m seed round in April, which involved GV, formerly Google Ventures.
Tessl was founded by entrepreneur Guy Podjarny, who was previously chief technology officer at cloud computing firm Akamai – which bought his start-up Blaze.io in 2012. He later founded cybersecurity company Snyk.io in 2015.
Set to launch in early 2025, Tessl aims to make software creation faster and more accessible through the use of AI models.
It currently employs 21 people and has built two test versions of its coding assistant, the waitlist for which opened on Thursday.
“We’re creating a new paradigm where humans express what they want to build, and AI handles the implementation,” Podjarny, also chief executive, said.
The firm plans to use the funding to develop the platform and make further hires in areas like research, engineering and design.
Its valuation, which the company did not disclose, underscores a recent boom in demand for artificial intelligence that has become a key part of the new government’s strategy to bolster Britain’s tech credentials.
“The UK is one of the best places to invest in tech and AI as shown by this latest announcement,” science secretary Peter Kyle said on Thursday.
“Last month we announced more than £6bn of international backing for data centres to boost our AI capacity, and today we’re seeing investors going faster and further to support brilliant British AI expertise.”
Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas, a partner at Index Ventures, said Podjarny had “a great track record of catalyzing cultural change in how developers work”.
“What he’s building with Tessl isn’t just a tool, but a movement to change how software gets made,” he added.