Introduction to Thunder Code

In 2023, co-founders Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani sold their expense management startup Expensya to Swedish procurement software firm Medius in what is widely considered to be one of the largest acquisitions of an African startup. The sum was reportedly just over $120 million, although deal terms were not disclosed.

A New Venture

After achieving success with Expensya, both founders swore off entrepreneurship, never intending to do another startup again. However, the pull of a new technological wave – generative AI – and the thought that they may be able to build something even bigger with it have drawn them back in. The two have now co-founded Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform, which has already secured $9 million in seed funding.

The Idea Behind Thunder Code

Jouini says his transition into head of technology at Medius reignited a spark he missed after years as Expensya’s frontman. As he oversaw the integration of six companies across three continents, he saw firsthand how generative AI could reshape the software industry. Testing was a universal problem, no matter the product, a realization that seeded the idea for Thunder Code. Thunder Code tackles slow, manual testing with AI-powered “agents” that mimic human testers.

Lessons Learned from Expensya

Determined to avoid Expensya’s early missteps, Jouini prioritized speed. The company shipped its first MVP in week six, and now the product is much more solid six months in than Expensya was in year four. This reflects a widely held belief in startup land that fast feedback trumps perfect plans. In addition to speed, Jouini’s second rodeo also applies other hard-earned lessons from Expensya, like focusing on core features and getting the best talent as soon as possible.

Market Potential

Thunder Code is already gaining traction, with paying customers and pilot programs across the U.S., Canada, France, and Tunisia. The company partners with delivery managers, QA shops, and developer teams eager to test and ship faster. Its current focus is web application testing, with plans to expand into mobile, desktop, and API testing by late 2025. The software testing market is projected to exceed $100 billion by 2027, still dominated by legacy code-based platforms like Tricentis and BrowserStack, that may be slow to adapt.

Competitive Edge

Jouini believes Thunder Code’s fast execution with AI gives it an edge even against similar new agentic products. The company joins an increasingly crowded market of startups all attempting to do the same, with entrants ranged from UIPath to startups like Jetify and Nova AI. It helps that his co-founder, Othmani, brings deep expertise in generative AI, having built internal AI tools at Expensya years before ChatGPT made waves.

Funding and Investment

The funding round includes familiar faces from Expensya’s cap table, including Silicon Badia and Jaango Capital, along with Titan Seed Fund and strategic angels like Roxanne Varza (Director of Station F) and Karim Beguir, CEO of Instadeep, Africa’s biggest AI startup. Former and current Expensya employees who cashed out during the acquisition have also invested. “Some of our investors are actually Expensya employees and I’m glad it worked out that way,” said Jouini.

Conclusion

Jouini believes, however, that AI will let Thunder Code generate 10 times the value with fewer people, echoing the broader sentiment shift toward leaner AI-powered teams. With its strong foundation, talented team, and significant funding, Thunder Code is poised to make a significant impact in the software testing market.