Africa's Most Successful Tech Founder Returns With a $9M AI Startup
What is Africa’s most successful startup founder working on now? After selling their previous company in one of Africa’s biggest tech acquisitions, Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani are back with a new AI venture: Thunder Code. This generative AI-powered software testing startup has already raised $9 million in seed funding — and it’s shaping up to be one of the continent’s most promising AI startups. For users searching for the latest on African tech innovation, AI startup funding, or high-growth SaaS companies in Africa, this story offers insight, inspiration, and a look into a potential future unicorn.
In 2023, Jouini and Othmani made headlines by selling their expense management startup Expensya to Swedish software giant Medius. Though the exact numbers weren’t disclosed, sources estimate the deal exceeded $120 million, making it one of the largest exits in African tech history. The deal spanned acquisitions across three continents and marked a massive win for North Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Following the sale, the co-founders publicly declared they were done with startups. Jouini moved into a CTO role at Medius, helping lead its global technology integration. But as generative AI rapidly transformed the software landscape, Jouini found himself reenergized by its potential — especially in one area: software testing.
That spark led to the birth of Thunder Code, a platform that leverages generative AI to automate and optimize QA testing. Unlike traditional solutions, Thunder Code uses AI agents that simulate real human testers, catching bugs in UI and UX, speeding up test cycles, and continuously learning from feedback. It's a game-changing approach for product development teams aiming to ship faster and with fewer errors — a huge pain point in enterprise SaaS and cloud-based services.
“We swore we’d never do another company,” Jouini said in an interview. “But like parenting, you forget how hard it was because you’re driven by belief in something better. This time, it’s bigger — and it’s AI-first.”
With a $9M seed round secured just months after launch, Thunder Code is already attracting attention from venture capitalists betting on AI in DevOps, automated software testing, and high-growth African startups.
Why Thunder Code Matters:
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Generative AI + DevOps: Solves real pain points in quality assurance and testing.
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Global Scalability: Applicable to software teams worldwide, not just in Africa.
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Proven Founders: Backed by successful entrepreneurs with a track record.
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Investor Interest: $9M raised indicates strong early confidence.
As Africa continues to emerge as a hub for global tech innovation, startups like Thunder Code are leading the charge — proving that with the right mix of experience, timing, and cutting-edge AI technology, world-class companies can come from anywhere.
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