(Bloomberg) -- StackBlitz Inc., the maker of developer tool Bolt.new, is finalizing talks to raise money from investors at a $700 million valuation, its chief executive officer said — the latest deal for an artificial intelligence startup promising to change computer programming and coding.
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The company is set to raise $83.5 million in a deal led by Emergence Capital and GV, formerly Google Ventures, said CEO Eric Simons. Madrona Venture Group, Conviction and Mantis are also participating.
The startup earlier raised a $22 million Series A round from investors, Simons said, a deal that hadn’t been previously reported.
StackBlitz was founded in 2017 as a web development software startup, but until recently it was struggling to find its niche. That changed with the introductions of a new AI product — Bolt.new, a platform that uses AI to help build websites. The tool, launched in October, already has nearly 1 million users each month, and has grown via word of mouth, Simons said. The service has generated tens of millions in annual recurring revenue for the startup, he said.
“Five months ago we were on the verge of spinning down the company,” the CEO said. The launch of Bolt.new was an “overnight success seven years in the making.”
Simons said the product’s appeal is that even someone with limited technical skills could create something using the technology. People are able to create web applications using verbal commands. In some respects, it competes with developer technology business Replit Inc., Simons said.
Joe Floyd, general partner at Emergence Capital, is joining the board with this round. Floyd pointed to the rapid revenue gains in the three months since the company launched its new product.
It’s “growing faster than Zoom, Salesforce or any of our prior investments” at this stage, he said, adding that the tool was being used by both technical and non-technical people.
GV general partner Erik Nordlander said that the startup made software development more accessible, adding “there is no faster way to build an app than with their flagship product.”
Other StackBlitz investors include Flex Capital, Greylock Partners and Tribe Capital, according to PitchBook data.
(Updates with investor quotes in the penultimate paragraph.)