Observed Signal · Oct 21, 2026 · Funding · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Blacksmith hits unicorn valuation with $66M Series C
Blacksmith, a platform that helps companies build and test software including AI-generated code, announced a $66 million Series C funding round led by Sequoia, valuing the company at $1 billion. The company also reported that its annual recurring revenue has grown 17x and that it has run over 90 million CI jobs. Customers include Mercury and Granola. This round comes just two months after a $45 million Series B at a $550 million valuation. A year ago, Blacksmith was valued at $60 million after a $10 million Series A. Total funding raised to date is $125 million. The company aims to address the growing volume of continuous integration (CI) needed as AI agents write more software, emphasizing the importance of trust in code validation.
This funding round highlights the growing importance of CI/CD infrastructure for AI-generated code, a key trend in software development that impacts the broader tech ecosystem, including AdTech platforms relying on AI.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Blacksmith raised a $66 million Series C round led by Sequoia at a $1 billion valuation.
- The company's annual recurring revenue has grown 17x.
- Blacksmith has run over 90 million CI jobs.
- Customers include Mercury and Granola.
- Total funding raised to date is $125 million.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“Customers include Mercury and Granola.”
“Led by Sequoia, the $66 million Series C values the company at $1 billion.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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Blacksmith valuation rises 10x to $550M after $45M Series B
Blacksmith, an AI code-testing startup founded in 2024, raised $45 million in a Series B led by Peak XV Partners at a $550 million valuation, up from a $60 million valuation at a $10 million Series A less than a year earlier. Existing investors GV and Y Combinator participated, bringing total funding to $58.5 million. Blacksmith says it now serves more than 5,000 customers (including Mercury, Supabase, Clerk, Ashby, and Expensify) and has grown from roughly 10 employees and a $10 million annualized run rate to about 30 employees and "tens of millions" in revenue, with some customers spending over $1 million annually. The company started as a cloud CI provider and expanded its platform with an AI coding agent called Codesmith. Management plans to broaden its suite of coding tools amid competition from major cloud providers and developer tooling companies.
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