AI Startup Tessl Raises $125 Million, Surpassing a $500 Million Valuation - 1

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AI Startup Tessl Raises $125 Million, Surpassing a $500 Million Valuation

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

The AI software development startup Tessl raised $124 million across two funding rounds: $25 million in a first round led by GV and boldstart in April, and $100 million in a series A led by Index with Accel participation. The company’s valuation is now above $500 million.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • AI software development startup Tessl raises $25 million and $100 during two funding rounds
  • Tessl hasn’t released any products yet, but investors trust its creator Guy Podjarny
  • The company aims to build a new safer and simpler AI native software development platform

“We’re happy to be well-fueled for the big journey ahead, and humbled by this vote of confidence in our mission and team,” wrote Guy Podjarny, CEO and founder of Tessl in a public statement . “Software powers our digital world, and improving the tools we use to create it can have exponential effects.”

Tessl is focusing on AI Native Development and developing AI software that can write code and maintain code autonomously.

According to TechCrunch , Tessl hasn’t launched any products yet, but investors trust the talent behind the creator. Podjarny is a popular developer, entrepreneur, and researcher, co-founder of the cybersecurity firm Snyk—valued at $7.4 billion in 2022—and founder of the web performance optimization company Blaze.io, and former Chief Technology Officer at Akamai, an internet infrastructure company.

In this new venture, Podjarny—also known as Guypo, according to Fortune —thought of the impact artificial intelligence is having on software and how it could be used to assist developers beyond AI coding assistants like Copilot. He noticed weaknesses in security, efficiency, and costs in the current methods of using AI for coding, and came up with Tessl—alluding to the process of “tessellation” when space or data divides in an organized system—to avoid mess and overlapping, and build a stronger AI native platform.

“We’re starting with relatively simple software that allows us to build an end-to-end system that is more manageable for LLMs to generate, and more manageable for humans to specify. And we will evolve from there,” said Podjarny in an interview with TechCrunch.

TechCrunch confirmed with multiple sources that the London-based startup’s valuation is above $500 million and Fortune said people with knowledge of the deal said it reached a $750 million valuation.

Generative AI startup Writer recently raised $200 million to expand its services.

Google Adds New Android Protections To Mitigate Scam Calls And Malware Threats - 2

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Google Adds New Android Protections To Mitigate Scam Calls And Malware Threats

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Google launched Scam Detection and live malware alerts on Pixel phones.
  • Scam Detection identifies suspicious calls with on-device AI, alerting users in real-time.
  • Google Play Protect now provides real-time malware alerts for harmful apps.

Google has introduced new safety features for Android devices, aiming to enhance user protection against scam calls and malware with a focus on data privacy.

The updates include Scam Detection within the Google Phone app and real-time alerts through Google Play Protect. Initially, these features will be available on Pixel devices, with plans for a wider release across more Android phones in the coming months.

Scam Detection is Google’s latest response to increasingly sophisticated phone scams, which account for substantial global financial losses .

The feature relies on Gemini Nano , an on-device AI model, to analyze call patterns commonly associated with fraud, such as urgent requests to transfer funds.

If a suspicious call is detected, Scam Detection issues real-time audio and visual warnings, allowing users to assess whether to proceed with the call. This functionality operates entirely on the device, ensuring that no audio data is stored or shared with Google or external servers.

Scam Detection is disabled by default, giving users control over its activation. The feature is available to English-speaking users in the United States enrolled in the Phone by Google public beta on Pixel 6 or newer models.

Alongside Scam Detection, Google has expanded its Google Play Protect service to include real-time alerts for potential malware and unsafe applications.

This enhancement allows Google Play Protect to analyze behavioral signals, such as the use of sensitive permissions and unusual interactions with other apps, to detect malicious software that may attempt to evade detection.

Currently, Google Play Protect’s live threat detection is focused on identifying stalkerware—software that can collect personal or sensitive data without the user’s consent—and may expand to address other types of harmful apps in the future.

Both Scam Detection and live threat detection are designed to operate within Google’s Private Compute Core, ensuring that data analysis happens entirely on-device to prioritize user privacy. These protections are currently available on Pixel 6+ devices, with plans to extend them to additional Android devices soon.