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Backend Development Engine & AI Code Analysis Tool
đź‘‹ Welcome to the 32nd edition of Open Scout!
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Startup Spotlight
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Company name: Encore
Founded: 2020, Sweden
What it does: Backend development platform
Founders: Andre Eriksson (CEO) - ex-Staff Software Engineer @ Spotify; Marcus Kohlberg (CPO) - ex-Group Product Manager @ Spotify
Overview:
Creating software mirrors a bustling kitchen, where chefs use exotic ingredients to craft elaborate dishes. Yet, chefs often spend too much time on mundane tasks like chopping onions. Similarly, backend developers grapple with repetitive chores, leaving limited room for creativity. These tasks can monopolize 80% of development, hindering the focus on outstanding software. As teams expand, conflicts arise, diverting attention from building a developer platform and sidetracking product development. This prompts the adoption of new tools and processes.
Encore simplifies creating distributed systems, backend services, and APIs. While still deploying to your own cloud account, Encore helps you escape the maze of cloud complexity:
This allows the technical team to focus on building its product rather than worrying about what’s happening under the hood.
If the company can put the money where its mouth is — i.e., if it really does reduce time to deployment from hours to minutes — and if it can prove a direct link to development efficiency, the value to software companies is immense.
Funding (public sources): $3 million Seed round in 4/22
Investors: Crane Venture Partners, Acequia Capital, Third Kind Venture Capital, Essence Venture Capital, Cocoa Ventures, Bucky Moore, Mehdi Ghissassi
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Company name: Sourcery
Founded: 2018, UK
What it does: AI powered code analysis tool for Python
Founders: Brendan Maginnis (CEO), Timothy Gilboy (COO), Nicholas Thapen (CTO)
Overview:
Python is a popular programming language known for its simplicity and versatility. However, even experienced Python developers can make mistakes or write code that is difficult to maintain.
Code is simple when it works perfectly, can be easily understood and extended by anyone, and contains no accidental complexity. Working with simple code is a joy, as nothing obstructs the translation of ideas into reality. Imagine a world where everyone writes simple code. Developers would be happier, teams would be much more productive, and users would receive the best software in the shortest possible time.
Sourcery, a static code analysis tool for Python, employs advanced algorithms to identify and rectify prevalent code issues such as typos, formatting inconsistencies, and erroneous variable names. It also provides automated refactoring utilities to enhance code readability and performance. By leveraging Sourcery, developers can promptly pinpoint potential code concerns before they escalate. They can ensure that their projects align with the latest best practices. The tool seamlessly integrates with popular IDEs and text editors, such as VS Code, PyCharm, Sublime, and Vim.
Funding (public sources): $1.75 million Seed round in 10/21
Investors: Forward Partners, Acequia Capital, Charlotte Street Capital, Angel Invest, CapitalX
Which early-stage startup should we feature next in our newsletter? Send us an email! (Criteria: Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A startups)
Funding
DynamoFL, a provider of software for large language models (LLMs), raised $15.1 million in a Series A round led by Canapi Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Formus Capital and Soma Capital.
Voiceflow, a conversational AI platform, secured $15 million in funding led by OpenView, bringing its total raised to $35 million and valuing the startup at $105 million post-money.
Grit, an AI code cleanup startup in New York, raised $7 million in Seed funding led by Founders Fund and Abstract Ventures, with participation from Quiet Capital, 8VC, A* Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, SV Angel, Operator Partners, CoFound Partners, and Uncorrelated Ventures.
Founders Factory Africa, an African early-stage investor, gathered $114 million to fund startups, focusing on a sector-agnostic approach and addressing gender imbalances. The studio has a portfolio of 55 ventures across 11 African countries and offers both equity and equity-free capital to support growth.
Reads
Getting Into Y Combinator Is Tougher Than It’s Ever Been (Bloomberg)
Will the rest of the world feel China’s deflation pain? (Financial Times)
Gumroad's open Q2 board meeting highlights: 99.48% YoY growth in Revenue, 317.56% YoY growth in Gross Profit, and a 13.2% decline in GMV YoY.
Pitch deck breakdown: Archer Aviation, the electric aircraft company founded in 2018, which has recently secured a funding of $215 million from prominent investors including Boeing, Stellantis, and United Airlines.
WeWork, from unicorn to penny stock (TheStreet): WeWork’s shares near zero after they warned there’s “substantial doubt” about their ability to stay in business.
Who's Hiring
Encore, a backend development platform, is hiring a Principal Backend Engineer and a Product Marketer.
Bonside, a financing platform for brick-and-mortars, is hiring a Senior Full-Stack Engineer.
Porter, a Platform as a Service that runs in the user's cloud, is hiring a Growth/Product Engineer, a Full Stack Engineer, and a Sales Development Representative.
Upfront Ventures, a VC firm in SoCal with $2 billion in assets under management, is hiring an Analyst - Data & Venture Operations.
Adverb is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 by Jessica Verrilli and April Underwood, and they are hiring an Investment Principal.
Forum Ventures is an early-stage fund, accelerator, and community that backs companies across all B2B SaaS verticals. They are hiring a Managing Director.
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Until next time,