Builder.ai Raises $250 Million Amid Surge in AI Investments

London’s Builder.ai has raised $250 million to expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software platform.

The Series D funding round was led by the Qatar Investment Authority and will allow the company to invest in talent, partnerships and technology, according to a Tuesday (May 23) press release.

Builder.ai said in the release the round will also help it place a larger focus on “using human conversation as the primary user interface for allowing people to build software rather than the expert-laden white-canvas systems we are used to seeing in the no-code/low-code space.”

Founded in 2016, Builder.ai offers an A)-powered composable software platform that lets “anyone with an idea to build an app” faster and more affordably, per the release.

“We are entering an incredible time in history where the very notion of software is changing; from something that had a shelf life of years to what will eventually have a shelf life of a conversation,n and the volume of what is being created is only going to grow exponentially,” said Builder.ai founder Sachin Dev Duggal in the release.

The company’s funding comes amid a time of increased investment in AI-related projects.

“At this very moment, the technology’s capabilities are already enacting sweeping changes across the ways in which end-users interact with and what they expect from the digital tools that make up much of modern life,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this week.

Amazon is at work on adding the tech’s capabilities to its search function and inventory system, while Google and Microsoft are at war over which of them can offer users the most up-to-date experience across both enterprise and individual product suites.

Meanwhile, startups and established tech firms alike are adding the tech to their offerings to boost valuations. PYMNTS looked at the trend earlier this month in a conversation with Amias Gerety, partner at QED Investors, who said AI is increasingly being mentioned in pitches from startup companies.

As Gerety told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, getting funding and reaching a high valuation because you’ve mentioned AI in your pitch isn’t the same as finding startups that will succeed because they’ve pinned their rise on AI.

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