Vishal Sikka’s AI Startup Hang Ten Raises $53 Million in Seed Extension

The latest funding round, led by Temasek’s Xora, brings the firm’s total capital to $85 million. The roster of backers includes Mayfield, Aramco Ventures, and industry heavyweights such as Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Intel’s Lip-Bu Tan. Hang Ten focuses on modernizing software for massive organizations, specifically targeting those with annual revenues exceeding $10 billion.

Sikka argues that the emergence of AI has effectively eliminated the marginal cost and time required for code generation, shifting the developer’s role from writing syntax to defining system requirements. The startup utilizes an in-house framework called Hobie to deploy AI-powered "skills" for complex, regulated industries. According to co-founder Sanjay Rajagopalan, these tools allow a team of four to handle projects that previously necessitated thirty engineers, with the company promising clients a tenfold increase in speed and cost efficiency.

Despite being in its infancy, the firm is already displacing incumbent vendors and managing contracts for major global entities including Siemens Energy and Saudi Aramco. While Sikka confirmed that the startup has already rebuffed acquisition interest from major corporations, the immediate focus remains on scaling its 25-person team across the U.S., Middle East, and Australia to meet surging demand for independent AI consulting.