Sequoia Leads Blacksmith to Unicorn Status as AI Code Volume Surges
AI-generated image · US National Wire
A $66 million Series C investment signals a pivot toward the infrastructure required to validate AI-generated software.
Blacksmith has reached a $1 billion valuation following a $66 million Series C funding round led by Sequoia, according to TechCrunch. The platform focuses on streamlining continuous integration (CI)—the process of validating, merging, testing, and building code changes.
The investment highlights a critical bottleneck in the AI era: the ability to trust and verify software written by agents. Blacksmith CEO and co-founder Aditya Jayaprakash told TechCrunch that many companies are currently struggling to manage the volume of CI required as AI writes more of the world's software.
Financial growth for the company has been rapid. TechCrunch reports that Blacksmith's annual recurring revenue has grown 17x, and the company has executed more than 90 million CI jobs for customers including Granola and Mercury.
This valuation represents a steep climb in company value over a short window. TechCrunch notes that Blacksmith was valued at $60 million a year ago after a $10 million Series A. Two months ago, the company was valued at $550 million following a $45 million Series B. To date, Blacksmith has raised a total of $125 million.