AI Coding Is Ultra Hot, With Magic And Codeium Revealing Big Rounds This Week

The intersection of AI and coding is one of the hottest areas for venture funding of late. But even in a heated investment environment, this week was exceptional.

Two companies, Magic and Codeium, confirmed fundraises of $320 million and $150 million, respectively. The two are among a larger cohort of recently funded companies aiming to add efficiency and alleviate pain points for the code development process with AI-enabled tools.

San Francisco-based Magic, which develops AI models to write software, said the new financing included backing from new investors Eric Schmidt, Jane Street Capital, Sequoia Capital and Atlassian Ventures. To date, the 2-year-old startup has raised over $465 million, according to Crunchbase data.

Codeium, which is based in San Jose, California, and is working on an AI coding assistant, said funding for its just-closed Series C came from lead investor General Catalyst, alongside Kleiner Perkins and Greenoaks. The 3-year-old company says it is working on tools to improve code quality while also reducing cost and development time.

The financings came amid a busy period for funding rounds around artificial intelligence and coding automation. Using Crunchbase data, we put together a list of nine companies innovating in this space that have raised sizable rounds in roughly the past year.

Notably, many of these companies are moving quickly from one round to the next. Magic raised a prior big round in February. Codeium’s Series C came just seven months after its Series B. And Silicon Valley-based Augment, developer of an AI coding aid, raised an April Series B just four months after its Series A.

It’s not hard to understand the appeal of what these startups are pitching. Code development has historically been an expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive endeavor, faced with perennial talent shortages. If new AI tools can help with any of those issues, they’re sure to find a welcome audience among companies of all sizes.