VC fundraising for developer tools companies
Developer tools VC has been reshaped by the AI coding wave. Capital concentrates in AI-assisted development platforms alongside the established CI/CD, observability and API infrastructure categories. Generalist funds have rotated heavily into developer tools, alongside a small set of bottoms-up software specialists who have been here for a decade.
Investors are bottoms-up developer-tools specialists, AI-fluent generalists backing AI-coding entrants, and corporate venture arms attached to the major cloud and developer platforms - GitHub-adjacent groups, GV and Microsoft's M12 all invest in adjacent developer software. Flow has direct relationships across the developer-tools specialists, AI generalists and the cloud and developer-platform CVCs that fund the category.
Flow has experience running VC fundraising processes for developer tools companies across code hosting and CI/CD, observability and APM, testing and QA tooling, API platforms and infrastructure, and AI-assisted development tools. Our extensive investor network spans early-stage seed funds, growth-stage investors, and strategic and corporate VC arms.
"Developer tools" KPIs VC investors look at
The metrics venture investors benchmark before pricing a round - in diligence, at the IC table, on the term sheet.
ARR
Paid seats
Free users / signups
Free-to-paid conversion
Net retention
Consumption revenue
Free-tier infra cost
Gross margin
CAC payback
Active orgs
Developer tools valuations in May 2026
Public developer tools comps trade at 3.4x EV/Revenue. Median revenue multiple across developer tools VC rounds was 25x in the last 12 months.
3.4x
Median EV/Revenue as of May 2026 for public developer tools companies
22x
Datadog is the highest valued public developer tools company based on EV/Revenue (excluding outliers)
3.5x
Median EV/Revenue across developer tools M&A deals in the last 12 months
25x
Median EV/Revenue across developer tools VC rounds in the last 12 months
Key recent developer tools VC rounds
$122B Undisclosed stage raised by OpenAI was the largest developer tools VC round completed in the last six months.
See all developer tools VC rounds| Logo | HQ | Description | Investors | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb-26 | OpenAI |  | OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and deployment company that develops large language models, including the GPT series, and consumer-facing products such as ChatGPT. Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, the organization transitioned to a capped-profit structure in 2019 to attract the capital needed for large-scale AI development. The company offers API access to its models for enterprise and developer use, alongside image generation through DALL-E and code-assistance tools. Headquartered in San Francisco, OpenAI has become one of the most prominent players in the generative AI space, backed by a multibillion-dollar investments from Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, SoftBank and many more. | Altimeter CapitalAndreessen Horowitz+10 | $122B | $852B | Undisclosed stage | |
Apr-26 | Anthropic | | Anthropic is an AI safety company developing large language models and researching methods to make artificial intelligence more reliable and steerable. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers including Dario and Daniela Amodei. The company's flagship product is Claude, a family of AI assistants deployed across consumer applications and enterprise APIs. Research priorities center on constitutional AI, mechanistic interpretability, and alignment techniques. Major investors include Google, Spark Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. | Vikram Makhija | $40B | $350B | Strategic investment | |
Feb-26 | Anthropic | | Anthropic is an AI safety company developing large language models and researching methods to make artificial intelligence more reliable and steerable. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers including Dario and Daniela Amodei. The company's flagship product is Claude, a family of AI assistants deployed across consumer applications and enterprise APIs. Research priorities center on constitutional AI, mechanistic interpretability, and alignment techniques. Major investors include Google, Spark Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. | AMP PBCCoatue+11 | $30B | $380B | Series G | |
Apr-26 | Anthropic | | Anthropic is an AI safety company developing large language models and researching methods to make artificial intelligence more reliable and steerable. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers including Dario and Daniela Amodei. The company's flagship product is Claude, a family of AI assistants deployed across consumer applications and enterprise APIs. Research priorities center on constitutional AI, mechanistic interpretability, and alignment techniques. Major investors include Google, Spark Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. | Amazon | $25B | $350B | Strategic investment | |
Dec-25 | OpenAI | | OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and deployment company that develops large language models, including the GPT series, and consumer-facing products such as ChatGPT. Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, the organization transitioned to a capped-profit structure in 2019 to attract the capital needed for large-scale AI development. The company offers API access to its models for enterprise and developer use, alongside image generation through DALL-E and code-assistance tools. Headquartered in San Francisco, OpenAI has become one of the most prominent players in the generative AI space, backed by a multibillion-dollar investments from Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, SoftBank and many more. | Disney | $1.0B | - | Strategic investment | |
Mar-26 | Replit | | Replit is a browser-based development environment for building and deploying full-stack applications without local setup. Users generate code from natural language prompts, integrate databases, and launch via one-click hosting. Replit supports collaborative coding for prototypes, APIs, and internal tools across technical skill levels. San Francisco-headquartered Replit powers instant app creation from ideation to production. | Andreessen HorowitzCoatue+10 | $400M | $9.0B | Series D | |
Dec-25 | Lovable |  | Lovable is a Stockholm-based software platform that uses artificial intelligence to generate full-stack web applications from natural language descriptions. Launched in 2024, it supports building apps with built-in authentication, databases, and deployment to platforms like Vercel. The tool targets developers and non-technical users in sectors such as technology, finance, and healthcare, enabling rapid prototyping of customer-facing products like dashboards and e-commerce sites. | AccelAtlassian Ventures+10 | $330M | $6.6B | Series B | |
Feb-26 | Temporal Technologies | | Temporal Technologies is a San Francisco-headquartered developer of an open-source platform for reliable workflow orchestration in microservices and cloud applications. Founded in 2020 by former Uber engineers, Temporal supports fault-tolerant execution for long-running processes used by companies like Stripe, Netflix, and DoorDash. Its SDKs in Go, Java, and TypeScript handle retries, state management, and sagas across distributed systems worldwide. | Amplify PartnersAndreessen Horowitz+7 | $300M | $5.0B | Series D | |
Jan-26 | Baseten | | Baseten is a serverless infrastructure platform for deploying machine learning models with autoscaling GPUs, cron scheduling, and vector databases. San Francisco-headquartered and founded in 2021, it supports PyTorch and TensorFlow runtimes, powering real-time inference for 1,000+ ML teams at Fortune 500 firms. Integrations include Pinecone for RAG and LangChain for agentic workflows. | CapitalGIVP+1 | $300M | $5.0B | Undisclosed stage | |
Jan-26 | Merge Labs | | Merge Labs is a San Francisco-headquartered provider of a unified API enabling software firms to integrate with accounting, CRM, HR, ticketing, and payments platforms via single connections with built-in data handling. | Bain CapitalGabe Newell+3 | $252M | $850M | Seed | |
May-26 | Blitzy | | Blitzy is a San Francisco-headquartered generative AI platform automating full-stack software development. Launched in 2023, its BlitzCode model generates production-ready codebases from natural language specs, supporting frameworks like React, Node.js, and Python. Blitzy OS orchestrates multi-agent workflows for testing, deployment, and iteration. Integrated with GitHub and Vercel, it serves dev teams at startups like Anthropic partners, reducing build times from weeks to hours. The platform handles microservices, APIs, and frontend UIs with built-in security scans. | Battery VenturesPicus Capital+10 | $200M | $1.4B | Undisclosed stage | |
Apr-26 | Factory | | Factory is a developer of AI agents named Droids that handle full software development tasks such as refactoring and migrations. San Francisco-headquartered, it integrates agents into IDEs, CLIs, browsers, and collaboration tools like Slack, offering enterprise-grade security for vendor-agnostic automation. | AbstractBlackstone+7 | $150M | $1.5B | Series C | |
Feb-26 | Revel | | Revel is a US-based platform for hardware orchestration, featuring a runtime engine, domain-specific language for control logic, and web-based interfaces. Founded in 2018, the San Francisco-headquartered company targets robotics and industrial automation, enabling deployment on devices like NVIDIA Jetson and Raspberry Pi. Revel integrates with ROS2 for real-time execution, serving developers in warehouse logistics and drone swarms. | AbstractDylan Field+4 | $150M | $1.0B | Series B | |
Jan-26 | LMArena | | LM Arena is an AI benchmarking platform hosting leaderboards for large language models evaluated on blind human-voted pairwise comparisons. The San Francisco-based service powers LMSYS Chatbot Arena, testing over 100 models from providers like Anthropic and Mistral. It serves researchers worldwide with open-source arenas for coding, math, and vision-language tasks. | Andreessen HorowitzFelicis+6 | $150M | $1.7B | Series A | |
Jan-26 | Deepgram | | - | Alumni VenturesAVP+9 | $143M | $1.3B | Series C |
VC investors active in developer tools
Y Combinator is the most active VC investor across developer tools, having invested in 231 startups in the last three years.
See all developer tools VCs| Logo | HQ | Description | Key portfolio | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Y Combinator | | Y Combinator is a San Francisco-headquartered startup accelerator that funds and mentors early-stage technology companies across sectors like software, biotechnology, and fintech. Since its inception in 2005, it has propelled alumni including Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe through intensive three-month programs featuring Demo Days and investor networks. | Mintlify21stAemon+2 | 231 | Pre-seed | |
Sequoia Capital | | Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with operations in the United States, China, India, and Southeast Asia. Founded in 1972, it invests in seed through growth-stage companies across sectors like consumer internet, enterprise software, healthcare, and semiconductors. The firm has backed transformative businesses including Apple, Google, WhatsApp, Airbnb, Stripe, NVIDIA, and DoorDash, achieving landmark returns from initial public offerings and acquisitions. Sequoia Capital maintains separate funds for U.S., China, and India ecosystems, supporting founders in building enduring technology leaders. | ParallelTemporal TechnologiesAnthropic+2 | 38 | Series A | |
Accel | | Accel is a Palo Alto-headquartered venture capital firm investing in early and growth-stage technology companies globally. The firm backs founders in software, consumer internet, and mobile sectors with portfolio companies including Facebook, Slack, Dropbox, and Spotify. Operating funds across the US, Europe, and India since 1983, it supports over 1,000 startups. | s2.devCode MetalModem+2 | 34 | Series A | |
Pioneer Fund | | Pioneer Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests exclusively in Y Combinator batches. The fund deploys capital into early-stage startups from accelerator programs, with portfolio companies including DoorDash, Airbnb, and Stripe alumni. It manages over $100 million across multiple funds focused on software, fintech, and consumer tech sectors. | DepotMCP UseParse+2 | 34 | Pre-seed | |
Andreessen Horowitz | | Andreessen Horowitz is a Menlo Park-headquartered venture capital firm founded in 2009 that targets seed through late-stage investments in software infrastructure, consumer internet, enterprise applications, fintech, cryptocurrency, and biohealthcare. The firm has backed Airbnb, Coinbase, GitHub, Lyft, and Stripe, maintaining offices in San Francisco and Santa Clara. | MintlifyReplitOpenAI+2 | 27 | Series A | |
Felicis | | Felicis is a Menlo Park-headquartered venture capital firm managing $3.4 billion across multiple funds. The firm invests in early-stage companies in AI, machine learning, biotech, and enterprise software, with notable portfolio exits including Canva and Opendoor. Backing over 100 startups since 2007, Felicis supports teams through talent networks and operational resources, achieving top-quartile returns in enterprise and healthtech verticals. | Deep InfraCorridorDepot+2 | 26 | Series A | |
Lightspeed Venture Partners | | Lightspeed Venture Partners is a Menlo Park-headquartered venture capital firm investing in seed through growth stages across enterprise software, consumer tech, and fintech sectors. The firm has funded companies like Snapchat, MuleSoft acquired by Salesforce for 6.5 billion dollars, and Rubrik. Lightspeed Venture Partners manages over 18 billion dollars across global funds, with offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Israel, and India. Its enterprise portfolio features ThoughtSpot and Thoughtworks. | Portkey AITemporal TechnologiesLMArena+2 | 25 | Series A | |
Antler |  | Antler is a Singapore-headquartered global venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests in early-stage tech companies. It operates day-zero programs in 27 cities, backing 1,000+ startups with $100 million deployed annually across AI, fintech, and sustainability. Portfolio includes unicorns like Hold One and Tiqets, with a network of 3,000 mentors and 700+ investors for follow-ons. | Craftif AIPanto AIAmbrogio+2 | 25 | Pre-seed | |
Techstars | | Techstars is a Boulder-headquartered global network founded in 2006 that operates over 50 accelerators annually across 15 countries. It invests $120,000 in exchange for 6 percent equity in 500 startups yearly, spanning AI, sustainability, and healthcare. The firm manages a venture fund deploying capital into alumni companies and runs corporate partnerships with brands like Amazon and Barclays for innovation pilots. Techstars portfolio exceeds 3,500 companies valued over $15 billion collectively. | TechiValue GlobalZenith AppTestSprite+2 | 20 | Pre-seed | |
CRV |  | CRV is a leading herd improvement cooperative for dairy and beef farmers, with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Luxembourg, South Africa, Brazil, the USA, the Czech Republic, and Spain. It exports semen to about 50 countries via distributors. Owned by Dutch CR Delta and Flemish VRV cooperatives representing 27,000 farmers, CRV provides genetics, data services, and advisory support worldwide. | DatumReflection.AiNozomio+2 | 18 | Series A |
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across developer tools and beyond.
Ziik
We acted as fundraising advisor to Ziik, a Copenhagen-based all-in-one social intranet and internal communication SaaS platform, on its growth funding round.
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Sentryc
We led the capital raising process for Sentryc, a Berlin-based AI-driven brand protection and IP software provider, on its growth round led by Seventure Partners.
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Picus Security
We advised PE firm Turkven on its $24m Series B investment into Picus Security, an Istanbul-based breach and attack simulation (BAS) cybersecurity platform.
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sevDesk
We advised New York-based crossover investor Arena Holdings on its €50m growth investment into sevDesk, a leading German cloud-native accounting platform for SMEs and freelancers.
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Orka
We advised Elysian Fields on its investment into Orka, a Reykjavik-based portfolio of online consumer lending platforms, supporting deal structuring and growth-capital deployment in the Icelandic fintech market.
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