AI is revolutionizing coding practices, with developers increasingly turning to Artificial Intelligence tools to streamline their work.
A recent StackOverflow survey indicates that 44% of software engineers now use AI in their development processes, with another 26% planning to adopt such tools soon. According to Gartner, by 2028, 75% of developers are expected to use AI coding assistants.
Seeing the growing reliance on AI, ex-Microsoft developer Igor Ostrovsky has created a new AI-powered coding platform called Augment.
Emerging from stealth with a substantial $252 million in funding, Augment aims to redefine the coding assistant market.
Want to learn more about what Augment does? Read this Twitter thread to find out:
Augment, a GitHub Copilot rival, just raised $252M at a $977M valuation to empower developers with AI
Their waitlist is open (link in comments)
Here’s what the team aims to do (1/6): pic.twitter.com/aKzucwY3Qe
— Chief AI Officer (@chiefaioffice) April 24, 2024
With backers like Eric Schmidt and several leading venture capital firms, Augment boasts a post-money valuation just shy of $1 billion.
Ostrovsky, drawing on his extensive experience at Microsoft and Pure Storage, envisions Augment as a solution to the common frustrations in software development—complexity, fragility, and lengthy development times.
Augment is not just another AI tool. It incorporates advanced, fine-tuned generative AI models to offer unique features, although Ostrovsky remains tight-lipped about the specifics.
Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Amazon’s AWS CodeWhisperer, and Google’s Gemini Code Assist are just some of the competitors. Despite this crowded field, Ostrovsky is confident in Augment’s potential for rapid growth and innovation.
However, AI coding tools face significant challenges, including high operational costs and technical limitations, such as security vulnerabilities.
Despite this, many users still have started using the new AI assistant:
yep i signed up!
— Chief AI Officer (@chiefaioffice) April 24, 2024
Previous incidents have shown that AI assistants can inadvertently introduce errors and security risks into codebases.
Despite these challenges, Ostrovsky claims that hundreds of developers are already using Augment in its early access stage, and he anticipates doubling the company’s workforce by year-end.
As the AI coding assistant market continues to evolve, Augment is poised to become a key player, potentially transforming how software is developed with AI technologies.
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