Code-writing AI startup Poolside raises $126m and moves to Paris

A US based startup that aims to build a tool that can write code using natural language has raised a whopping $126m in seed funding and moved its headquarters to Paris, Sifted.eu reported.

Poolside AI, founded by former GitHub CTO Jason Warner and serial entrepreneur Eiso Kant, wants to democratise software development by enabling anyone to create applications without coding skills.

The startup, which launched in May, has attracted the attention of prominent investors such as French billionaire Xavier Niel and US VC Felicis, who led the seed round.

The round is an extension of a $26m seed round announced in May, which was led by Redpoint Ventures, where Warner was previously a partner.

Other investors include French business angels Rodolphe Saadé and Motier Ventures, and funds such as Bpifrance, NewWave and Frst.

Poolside AI is one of the latest AI companies to choose Paris as its base, joining the likes of Mistral, Nabla and Dust.

The French capital offers a rich pool of talent and low costs for AI startups, as well as strong government support. Poolside AI has also opened a French subsidiary and plans to grow its team, which currently consists of less than 10 people.

The startup’s vision is to create a foundational AI model, similar to ChatGPT but with a different goal — to generate code from natural language queries.

For example, a teacher could ask the model to create an app for learning, or a doctor could ask it to build a software for managing appointments. This way, people who are not programmers could become software creators.

However, this ambitious project will take years to achieve. In the meantime, the startup is focusing on building a model that can help software developers with their tasks, such as optimising code or fixing bugs.