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

Chamath Palihapitiya, best known for his venture capital firm Social Capital and the All-In podcast, announced Monday that the AI coding startup he founded raised a sizable Series A.

The company, 8090 Labs, closed a $135 million round led by Salesforce Ventures with participation from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo; David Sacks’ Craft Ventures; fellow All-In hosts and “besties” David Friedberg (The Production Board) and Jason Calacanis (Launch); and angel investors like Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.

Palihapitiya founded 8090 Labs in January 2024 to offer an AI coding agent specifically for corporate programming teams. Its product, Software Factory, helps corporate coders use AI to build production-quality software, not just vibe-coded prototypes, with all the controls enterprises need, such as audit trails, the company promises.

With the raise, Palihapitiya also announced on X that he will lead the startup as CEO, rather than just serving as a board member.

He said the AI rush today feels like the rise of social media in his career as an early exec at Facebook, long before it became Meta. “Since I left Facebook, I was waiting for a moment like this to return to a full-time operating role,” he wrote. “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.”

Last chance to save up to $190 on TechCrunch Founder Summit. Join 1,000+ founders and VCs at all stages for real-world scaling insights and connections that move the needle.

Savings end June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT.