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Blacksmith, Which Helps Check AI-Written Code, Raises $66M Series C Led by Sequoia at a $1 Billion Valuation
TechCrunch reports that Blacksmith, which helps companies build and test software, including AI-written code, has announced a $66 million Series C led by Sequoia at a $1 billion valuation. Its CEO says the more code AI writes, the more companies need to know whether software can be trusted.
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What happened
According to a TechCrunch report dated October 21, 2026, Blacksmith is a platform that helps companies build and test software more efficiently, including code written by AI. On Wednesday the company announced a $66 million Series C led by Sequoia, at a valuation of $1 billion. A "Series C" is one of the successive rounds in which a startup raises money from investors. The "lead" is the main investor that heads the round. The "valuation" is the value of the company implied by the round.
TechCrunch also reports that Blacksmith announced its annual recurring revenue (income that can be reliably earned again each year) grew 17x. It also announced that it has run more than 90 million CI jobs, meaning individual automated code checks. Customers named in the report include Mercury and Granola.
What the CEO said
Aditya Jayaprakash, Blacksmith's co-founder and CEO, said the company was founded to make continuous integration (CI) "less painful." CI refers to the process of building, testing, merging and validating code changes.
According to TechCrunch, Jayaprakash wrote in a blog post that "most companies are struggling to keep up with the volume of CI they need to run," especially in an era when so much code is written by AI. He also said: "As agents write more of the world's software, the question that matters is whether it can be trusted."
Comparing the three rounds
| Round | Amount raised | Company valuation | Timing (per TechCrunch) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | $10 million | $60 million | About a year before the Series C announcement |
| Series B | $45 million | $550 million | About two months before the Series C |
| Series C | $66 million (led by Sequoia) | $1 billion | Announced Wednesday |
TechCrunch reports that Blacksmith has raised $125 million in total to date. The Series C came only about two months after the Series B.
What it means for general readers
For non-engineers, CI can be understood as the automated checking process software goes through before release. According to Blacksmith's CEO, as AI writes more code, the volume of these checks grows too, which makes it a priority to ensure software can be trusted. This is the company's own view.
Frequently asked questions
What does Blacksmith do?
According to TechCrunch, Blacksmith is a platform that helps companies build and test software more efficiently, including code written by AI.
How large is this funding round, and what is the valuation?
TechCrunch reports that Blacksmith announced a $66 million Series C led by Sequoia, at a valuation of $1 billion.
What is CI?
According to TechCrunch, CI stands for continuous integration, the process of building, testing, merging and validating code changes. Each CI job is one individual automated code check.
What operating figures did Blacksmith announce?
According to TechCrunch, the company announced that annual recurring revenue grew 17x and that it has run more than 90 million CI jobs. Its customers include Mercury and Granola.
Can these figures be trusted?
Blacksmith announced these figures itself and TechCrunch reported them, so they should be treated as the company's own claims.
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