One of Africa’s most successful founders is back with a new AI startup and already raised $9M

Expensya co-founders Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, after selling their expense management startup to Medius in a deal estimated at over $120 million, have launched Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform, securing $9 million in seed funding. Jouini, who briefly served as CTO at Medius, aims to leverage AI to disrupt the $100 billion software testing market, focusing on speed and core features, with early traction in the U.S., Canada, France, and Tunisia; the funding round includes previous Expensya investors and employees.

Analysis

The co-founders of Expensya, Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, following the successful sale of their prior startup for a sum reportedly exceeding $120 million, have re-entered the entrepreneurial landscape with Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform. This new venture has rapidly secured $9 million in seed funding within six months of inception, underscoring strong investor confidence, bolstered by repeat backing from Expensya investors and employees. Thunder Code aims to disrupt the software testing market, projected to surpass $100 billion by 2027, by leveraging AI agents to automate and enhance testing processes, addressing inefficiencies in a sector currently dominated by legacy platforms such as Tricentis and BrowserStack. Jouini highlights the company's accelerated development, achieving an MVP in six weeks and a more robust product within six months compared to four years for Expensya, attributing this to lessons learned regarding speed, focus on core features, and early talent acquisition, even at the cost of dilution. Despite entering a competitive field with other AI-driven entrants like UIPath and various startups, Thunder Code's founders believe their deep AI expertise and swift execution provide a competitive advantage. The company has already demonstrated early traction with paying customers and pilot programs across North America, Europe, and Africa, initially targeting web application testing with plans to expand to mobile, desktop, and API testing by late 2025. The overall optimistic sentiment surrounding this launch reflects the founders' proven track record and the transformative potential of generative AI in enterprise software solutions.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should monitor the generative AI software testing sub-sector for disruptive potential against established players, as demonstrated by Thunder Code's rapid early progress and significant seed funding.
• The re-entry of proven entrepreneurs like Jouini and Othmani into the AI space, targeting a substantial market, signals high conviction in AI's value creation capabilities and may warrant attention on similar founder-led AI ventures.
• For venture capital and private equity investors, Thunder Code represents a noteworthy early-stage opportunity in a rapidly evolving market, meriting observation for future funding rounds given its experienced leadership, strong initial backing, and ambitious growth plans within the burgeoning AI tools landscape.