Paris is rapidly becoming a top European hub for AI startups, and a new deal could solidify its status even further. Poolside.ai, a generative AI company from Paris focused on accelerating software development, is in the process of raising over $400 million, aiming for a post-money valuation of $2 billion, according to sources from TechCrunch.
Major Investors On Board
Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) and DST are reportedly in talks to co-lead this funding round. BCV is a returning investor, while DST is a newcomer. PitchBook previously estimated this round to be around $450 million.
Past Successes
Last August, Poolside made headlines by raising $126 million in its seed round. This round saw participation from notable investors such as London’s Air Street, Abstraction and Scribble Ventures, New Wave and First from France, and others like Bpifrance, Felicis, Point Nine, and Redpoint. However, neither the investors nor Poolside’s CEO responded to requests for comments on the current round.
Paris: The New “City of AI”
Paris is home to other prominent AI startups, like Mistral and H, which have also secured massive seed rounds ($113 million and $220 million, respectively). The city’s thriving AI scene is attracting significant investment, mirroring global trends where AI startups like Anthropic and OpenAI are raising billions.
Why Poolside?
Several factors contribute to Poolside’s strong appeal:
– Experienced Founders: CEO Jason Warner, former CTO of GitHub, and CTO Eiso Kant, founder of Athenian, bring deep expertise in developer tools and DevOps. Warner’s VC experience at Redpoint adds another layer of insight into the startup-investor dynamic.
– Focused Mission: Poolside aims to help developers work faster by building specialized tools, targeting a specific problem rather than a broad, generalized approach. This aligns with the concept of creating tools the founders themselves would use, a proven strategy in the startup world.
– Strategic Vision: Poolside’s long-term plan involves expanding beyond developers to anyone interested in coding and, eventually, applying their technology to various other fields.
– Early Progress: While it’s unclear if Poolside has released a product yet, there are indications of growth and development. For instance, their cloud services deal with IREN ramped up in April.
– Monetization Potential: Unlike many AI projects still exploring revenue models, Poolside’s co-pilot tools for developers present a clear and large-scale opportunity. The structured nature of programming makes it an ideal application for AI, with clear benchmarks and performance indicators.
As the AI sector continues to surge, Poolside’s focused approach and strong backing position it as a potential leader in the developer tools space. This funding round could mark a significant step in realizing its ambitious goals.
