One of Africa’s most successful founders is back with a new AI startup and already raised $9M

Summary

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. Some sources say the sum was just over $120 million, although deal terms were not disclosed. Success achieved, both founders swore off entrepreneurship, never intending to do another startup again and Jouini became a CTO role in the merged software company, with other acquisitions spanning three continents. But the pull of a new technological wave – generative AI – and the thought that they may be able to build something even bigger with them 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, they told TechCrunch. “It’s pretty crazy because we promised not to do another company because Expensya was too hard,” Jouini told TechCrunch. “But I think it’s like when people have two kids, they forget how hard the first one was. This new venture is less than six months old and already super intense, but we’re fired up. We’re convinced this is unicorn material.” 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. These agents simulate QA processes, catch subtle UI and UX issues, and learn from feedback. Determined to avoid Expensya’s early missteps, Jouini prioritized speed. “We shipped our first MVP in week six, and now the product is much more solid six months in than Expensya was in year four,” he said. This refle...