Software testing platform Blacksmith has secured $66 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the firm at $1 billion. The startup plans to significantly expand its computing capacity in 2027 to manage the surge in code testing volume driven by the widespread adoption of AI coding tools.
Software testing infrastructure startup Blacksmith has attained unicorn status, reaching a $1 billion valuation following a $66 million Series C funding round. The investment was led by Sequoia Capital, with additional participation from Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, GV, and Y Combinator. This brings the total capital raised by the company, founded in 2024, to approximately $125 million.
Blacksmith operates in the continuous integration (CI) market, which handles the automated testing of code changes. The company’s platform is designed to handle the increased stress on systems caused by AI-powered coding agents, which enable developers to generate and submit significantly more code than previously possible. According to the company, its platform aims to double the speed of code validation jobs while reducing operational costs by roughly 60% for its users.
The company has reported rapid growth, noting that weekly CI job processing jumped from five million in January 2026 to over 90 million by October 2026. This surge in activity has reportedly led to a 17-fold increase in annual recurring revenue during the same period. Currently, Blacksmith manages about 10 megawatts of computing capacity across data centers in Europe and the United States, with a client list that includes companies such as Ashby, Granola, Handshake, and LangChain.
For investors and market observers, the key monitorable for Blacksmith will be its aggressive expansion strategy. The company has announced plans to increase its data center footprint fivefold throughout 2027. While this expansion is intended to meet the rising demand from its 10,000-plus client base, such a rapid increase in computing capacity requires significant capital expenditure. The long-term profitability of this business model will depend on the company's ability to maintain high utilization of its new infrastructure while managing the costs associated with operating large-scale data centers.
Additionally, the competitive landscape for software testing and CI remains intense, with established providers constantly upgrading their infrastructure. Blacksmith’s success relies on maintaining a technical advantage that allows it to process code more efficiently than these larger incumbents. The firm’s next phase will focus on scaling this infrastructure to match the rapid pace of AI software development, and the successful execution of this 2027 expansion plan will be critical for sustaining its current growth trajectory.