TechCrunch Startup News Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise to automate AI’s ‘after-code’ gap
Dec 12, 2025
Harness has raised $240M, achieving a remarkable $5.5B valuation, primarily led by Goldman Sachs. The discussion highlights the urgent need to address post-code challenges that consume 70% of engineers' time. Their innovative AI agents utilize a Knowledge Graph for better context-aware automation. With 1,200+ employees and expansion in Bengaluru, the company is poised for global growth. Plans for an IPO are also on the table, reflecting strong growth metrics and a unified approach to security and DevOps.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Valuation Jump And Employee Liquidity
- The $240M round led by Goldman Sachs values Harness at $5.5B, a 49% increase from April 2022.
- The raise included a $40M tender offer to give liquidity to long-term employees while boosting total equity raised to $570M.
Automating The Post-Code Bottleneck
- Harness automates the “after-code” phase—testing, security, and deployment—that consumes almost 70% of engineering time.
- Its AI agents use a software delivery Knowledge Graph to generate context-aware pipelines and safe automated actions.
Founder’s Successful Exit Informs Strategy
- Founder Jody Bonsal previously built and sold AppDynamics to Cisco for $3.7 billion in 2017.
- That exit gives him deep experience in the post-coding and performance space informing Harness's strategy.