TechCrunch Startup News Milestone raises $10M to make sure AI rhymes with ROI
Nov 17, 2025
An Israeli startup has raised $10 million to measure how AI tools impact engineering metrics like code quality. Founders Liad Elodin and Prof. Stephen Barrett share their journey and the challenges they identified in coding visibility. Milestone's unique data lake strategy leverages insights from project management and team dynamics to track AI's effectiveness. The discussion also dives into the evolving role of engineers as AI transforms workflows, alongside their focus on serving enterprise clients for clearer roadmaps.
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Measuring AI Impact On Engineering
- Milestone correlates AI tool usage with engineering metrics to show concrete impact on code quality and delivery speed.
- Combining codebases, project management, team structure, and tooling creates a GenAI data lake that reveals where AI helps or harms productivity.
Founders Reconnected Across Countries
- CEO Liad Elodin and CTO Stephen Barrett founded Milestone despite years of not meeting in person, having been student and professor respectively.
- Their long-distance partnership evolved from Trinity College projects into a startup focused on engineering efficiency amid rising code-assist tools.
AI Is Reshaping Engineering Roles
- Engineering workflows have shifted as autocompletes evolved into chat and agentic tools, requiring new measurement approaches.
- Barrett argues AI effectively