Chamath Palihapitiya raises $135M Series A for his AI coding startup, takes CEO role

Chamath Palihapitiya, renowned for his role in venture capital through Social Capital and as a host of the All-In podcast, made a significant announcement on Monday. His AI coding enterprise, 8090 Labs, successfully completed a Series A funding round, raising an impressive $135 million. This round was primarily led by Salesforce Ventures, with notable contributions from industry figures including Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo, David Sacks’ Craft Ventures, and fellow All-In podcast hosts David Friedberg’s The Production Board and Jason Calacanis’ Launch. The funding also attracted several angel investors, such as Nikesh Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, and Quora’s CEO, Adam D’Angelo. Founded in January 2024, 8090 Labs aims to revolutionize corporate programming with its innovative AI coding agent. The startup’s flagship product, Software Factory, is designed to assist corporate coders in creating production-quality software, moving beyond mere prototypes. The platform promises essential features for enterprises, including comprehensive audit trails and control measures. In addition to the funding news, Palihapitiya revealed via X that he will take on the role of CEO at 8090 Labs, stepping beyond his previous position as just a board member. Reflecting on the current surge in AI technology, he compared this moment to his early experiences at Facebook before its transformation into Meta. "Since I left Facebook, I was waiting for a moment like this to return to a full-time operating role," he expressed. "I am convinced that what we are building now is even more important, so there was no decision to make except to be all in."