Palihapitiya's 8090 Labs raises $135M, he takes CEO
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- 8090 Labs closed a $135 million Series A round led by Salesforce Ventures, with participation from Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo, David Sacks' Craft Ventures, David Friedberg's The Production Board, and Jason Calacanis' Launch.
- Chamath Palihapitiya founded 8090 Labs in January 2024 to build AI coding agents specifically for corporate programming teams, positioned against consumer-grade "vibe-coded" prototypes.
- Software Factory, the company's product, promises enterprise-grade controls such as audit trails for production-quality software development.
- Palihapitiya announced on X that he will serve as CEO full-time rather than remain a board member, comparing the current AI moment to the early rise of social media during his time as an early Facebook executive.
- Angel investors including Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora and Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo joined the round alongside the All-In podcast host syndicate.
Why it matters: Palihapitiya moving from board seat to full-time CEO is a notable commitment — he framed the AI moment as comparable to social media's early rise during his Facebook years. The $135M round, Salesforce Ventures lead, and a cap table stacked with All-In podcast co-hosts gives 8090 Labs both capital and enterprise channels to compete in an increasingly crowded AI coding market.
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