Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub, has raised $60 million in a seed round for a new developer tools startup, valuing the company at $300 million.
Developer infrastructure remains one of the most attractive corners of venture capital—even at the earliest stages.
Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub, has raised $60 million in what is being described as one of the largest seed rounds ever for a developer tools startup. The round values the company at $300 million before it has formally launched a broad commercial product.
The deal signals continued investor conviction that AI is fundamentally reshaping how software is built.
A bet on AI-native development
While details of the startup’s product roadmap remain limited, the company is reportedly focused on building tools that integrate deeply with AI-driven coding workflows.
Since the rise of code-generation assistants, developer tooling has shifted from static environments to increasingly intelligent, collaborative systems. Investors appear to believe that the next major platforms will be AI-native from inception, rather than retrofitted.
Friedman’s track record at GitHub—and his involvement during the early growth of GitHub Copilot—adds weight to that thesis.
Seed rounds grow larger, earlier
A $60 million seed round at a $300 million valuation underscores how capital has concentrated around experienced founders in AI infrastructure.
Such rounds blur the traditional distinction between seed and Series A funding, compressing timelines and increasing expectations for rapid product-market fit.
For GitHub, backing repeat founders reduces execution risk in markets that are otherwise volatile.
Developer tools remain resilient
Even as broader SaaS growth moderates, developer tooling continues to attract outsized investment. The rationale is straightforward: every AI-driven company is also a software company, and developers remain central to that expansion.
Platforms that successfully embed into coding workflows can achieve durable retention and high switching costs.
The challenge is differentiation in an increasingly crowded ecosystem of AI coding assistants and IDE extensions.
A competitive landscape forming
Major incumbents—including Microsoft, Google, and open-source communities—are aggressively integrating AI into development environments.
A new entrant must either redefine the workflow or integrate more seamlessly than existing tools.
The early valuation suggests investors believe Friedman’s startup has the credibility to attempt that.
The signal beyond the round
The size of the seed round is less about current revenue and more about perceived strategic positioning.
In the AI era, developer infrastructure is seen as foundational rather than optional.
The question now is whether capital efficiency can match capital intensity.
