Chamath Palihapitiya Raises $135 Million for AI Startup

Renowned investor and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya has made a major return to the tech world. He announced that his AI startup, 8090 Labs, has raised $135 million in a Series A funding round. The project focuses on automating programming processes and is expected to open new opportunities for the corporate sector. This was reported by Techcrunch.com news reports.

The investment round was led by Salesforce Ventures. Other prestigious investors involved include WndrCo, Craft Ventures, and All-In podcast hosts David Sacks, David Friedberg, and Jason Calacanis. Tech industry stars such as Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo also joined the list of supporters.

8090 Labs was founded in January of this year, and its core product is called Software Factory. This platform is an AI agent specifically designed for corporate developer teams. It does not just create simple code snippets but helps develop secure and controllable software that meets the requirements of large enterprises.

A new era in corporate programming

The main advantage of the Software Factory system is that it includes all the control mechanisms necessary for corporate clients, including audit checks and security protocols. This allows large companies to fully trust AI-generated code. Palihapitiya emphasized that the significance of today's AI boom is even stronger than the rise of social networks during his time at Facebook.

Along with the funding, Chamath Palihapitiya announced an unexpected decision. He will now serve not only as a board member but also as the CEO of 8090 Labs. This marks his first full return to operational management since leaving Facebook.

According to ixbt.com, Palihapitiya wrote on his X social media page that he had long awaited this moment. "Since leaving Facebook, I've been waiting for a moment like this to return to a full-time operational role. I am confident that what we are building now is more important than anything before," he noted.

The success of this startup could also be interesting for developing markets like Uzbekistan. At a time when great attention is being paid to increasing IT export potential in our country, tools like Software Factory could help local developer teams create high-quality products meeting international standards more quickly. AI-assisted coding will become a key factor in determining competitiveness in the software market in the future.