A year after selling their startup Expensya in a deal reportedly worth over $120 million, co-founders Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani are back with a new venture: Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform that has already raised $9 million in seed funding.
Despite vowing never to start another company, the duo was pulled back in by the rapid rise of generative AI. Thunder Code uses AI agents to automate manual software testing, catching UI and UX issues and learning from developer feedback.
“It’s pretty crazy because we promised not to do another company,” said Jouini. “But we’re convinced this is unicorn material.”
Jouini’s time as CTO at Medius, Expensya’s acquirer, sparked the idea for Thunder Code as he managed product integrations across three continents. Seeing the universal challenge of testing, he fast-tracked development – launching an MVP within six weeks. The platform is already in use across North America, Europe, and North Africa.
The startup focuses on web app testing but plans to expand into mobile, desktop, and API testing by late 2025. Based in Paris with a Tunis office, Thunder Code enters a competitive market alongside players like UIPath and BrowserStack. But Jouini believes AI gives them a speed advantage.
The seed round includes past Expensya investors like Silicon Badia and Janngo Capital, along with Titan Seed Fund and notable angels such as Roxanne Varza (Station F) and Instadeep CEO Karim Beguir. Even former Expensya employees have joined as backers.
“If we build a unicorn and dilute early to get there, that’s good value,” said Jouini.
