According to PitchBook, Paris, France-based AI software development startup Poolside AI, which is developing a large language model specifically designed for software developers, is currently in negotiations with investors to raise $450 million in funding. According to people familiar with the matter, the round is led by Enrique Salem of Bain Capital Ventures, two of the people said. Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) participated in the company's seed round in 2023.
According to a previous report by The Information, the pre-money valuation for this round is about $2 billion. The specific terms of the deal have not yet been finalized and may change.
In August last year, Poolside AI held a $126 million seed round, with a post-money valuation of $526 million at the time, led by French billionaire Xavier Niel, Felicis, and Redpoint Ventures.
Poolside was co-founded by Jason Warner and Eiso Kant in 2023. Jason Warner is a former managing director at Redpoint Ventures and former chief technology officer at GitHub, while Eiso Kant is a co-founder of workflow software company Athenian. Athenian was acquired by the Linux Foundation in November last year.
Poolside's upcoming funding reflects the high valuations that generative AI startups, especially those developing coding solutions and assistance tools, have attracted from investors even at very early stages.
Last month, code assistant startupAugmentraised $252 million in two funding rounds, at a valuation of $977 million, with support from Eric Schmidt, Index Ventures, Lightspeed, and others. Microsoft's GitHub Copilot software has 1.8 million paying users, showing significant demand for code assistants.
People familiar with the matter said Poolside told potential investors that the company already has early commercial validation points but has not yet shown significant revenue growth.
(Source:PitchBook）