AI code-testing startup Blacksmith’s valuation jumps almost 10x in less than a year

Blacksmith, an AI code-testing startup, has raised a new funding round that valued the company at $550 million, nearly ten times its $60 million valuation from less than a year prior. The company addresses a growing challenge in software development: as AI makes writing code faster, testing and validating that code has become a significant bottleneck. Blacksmith helps companies build, test, and verify software before it reaches production, and has grown from over 700 customers to more than 5,000 customers in less than a year. The startup operates in a competitive market that includes offerings from major cloud providers and other companies, and competes on the speed and affordability of its code testing services.