Meet Macroscope: an AI tool for understanding your code base, fixing bugs

The tech landscape welcomes a new player as the founders of the acclaimed livestreaming platform Periscope return with a fresh venture. Kayvon Beykpour, the former head of product at Twitter, has unveiled Macroscope, an innovative AI tool designed specifically for developers and product managers. Launched on Wednesday, this platform focuses on simplifying code updates and identifying bugs within codebases. Co-founded in July 2023 by Beykpour and his childhood friend Joe Bernstein, who also shares a history with Periscope and their earlier startup Terriblyclever, Macroscope is bolstered by co-founder Rob Bishop, who previously sold his machine learning company Magic Pony Technology to Twitter. The team aims to create an 'AI-powered understanding engine' that alleviates the time-consuming challenges engineers face. Beykpour explains that engineers currently juggle multiple tools like JIRA, Linear, and spreadsheets, often spending excessive time in meetings instead of coding. Macroscope seeks to change this dynamic. "I’ve experienced this struggle firsthand at various companies, from startups to large organizations like Twitter, where managing thousands of engineers was daunting and often my least favorite task," he shared during an interview with TechCrunch. To utilize Macroscope, customers first integrate its GitHub app, allowing the system to access their codebases. Additional integrations with platforms like Slack and Linear can be added for a more comprehensive experience. The software employs a technique known as code walking, utilizing the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) to understand the structure and context of the code, in conjunction with large language models (LLMs). Once operational, engineers can leverage Macroscope to identify bugs in their pull requests, obtain summaries of code changes, and pose research-oriented questions about the code. Product leaders benefit too, receiving real-time updates on product developments and insights into team productivity, facilitating informed decisions about engineering resources. Beykpour emphasizes the importance of accessibility in communication, stating, "You can pose natural language questions regardless of your technical expertise, making it easier to learn about the codebase without burdening a senior engineer. This is especially useful for executives wanting quick updates on progress without interrupting their team." While no tool directly rivals Macroscope's comprehensive offerings, it does face competition in the code review sector from various platforms. However, company benchmarks suggest that Macroscope outperforms competitors, identifying 5% more bugs in tests while generating significantly fewer comments. The subscription model is set at $30 per active developer monthly, requiring a minimum of five users, with enterprise options available for larger organizations. Macroscope has garnered support from notable firms and startups, including XMTP, Things, and A24 Labs. Based in San Francisco, the startup is powered by $30 million in Series A funding, led by investors like Lightspeed and Google Ventures, bringing total funding to $40 million.