Code Metal Secures $100 Million to Bet on the Future of 'Vibe Coding'

In a move that signals a major shift in software development, San Jose-based Code Metal has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round. The investment, led by Maverick Silicon with Playground Global participating, backs the company's pivot to 'vibe coding'—a method where applications are built by describing them to AI, not by writing code line by line.

The term, popularized by former OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy last year, describes a process where the programmer's role shifts from writing syntax to directing intent. Code Metal, originally a compiler technology firm for GPUs, now offers a platform that uses multiple AI agents to handle architecture, implementation, and deployment based on user prompts.

This bet rests on a simple premise: as AI grows adept at generating code, the main barrier to creating software becomes imagination, not technical skill. The market potential is enormous if non-programmers can build functional tools. Code Metal is targeting enterprise clients, where internal backlogs for custom applications are chronic, by allowing business analysts and domain experts to build without waiting for IT.

Yet, significant questions remain. Studies, including one from Stanford in early 2025, have found AI-generated code often contains more security flaws than code written by junior developers. Critics warn of unpredictable breakdowns and a legal gray area surrounding intellectual property.

Code Metal is not alone. The field is fiercely competitive, with rivals like Cursor and Replit also attracting massive funding. Code Metal differentiates itself by focusing on the entire application lifecycle, leveraging its compiler background to aim for more stable and optimized outputs.

The $100 million investment is a stark indicator of investor conviction. It's a wager that the economics of software creation are changing fundamentally, potentially making it faster and cheaper by an order of magnitude. Whether Code Metal becomes the dominant player is uncertain, but the trend it represents—democratizing software building—appears firmly established.