Emergent, an AI-powered app creation platform founded by twin brothers Mukund and Madhav Jha, has raised $23 million in Series A funding to make app building accessible to non-technical users. The round was led by Lightspeed, with participation from Y Combinator, Together Fund, and prominent angel investors including former a16z partner Balaji Srinivasan, Google’s Jeff Dean, and Mistral’s Devendra Chaplot. The company has now raised $30 million in total.
Positioning itself as the Instagram for app creation, Emergent allows users to build apps simply through prompts. While the concept of “no-code” tools isn’t new, Emergent differentiates itself by managing APIs, deployment, and error handling with AI agents, eliminating technical barriers for consumers.
Mukund Jha, who previously served as CTO of Dunzo, said he and his brother envisioned Emergent after seeing AI’s rapid progress in coding automation. “We felt that agent-based app development is going to be a huge part of the economy, and that was the problem we wanted to solve for the next 20 years,” he explained.
Since its launch last year, the platform has attracted more than 1 million users, who have collectively built over 1.5 million apps. Users can experiment with everything from pet vaccine trackers to productivity tools, with Emergent’s AI agents guiding them through questions, app logic, and testing, all in under an hour.
Currently, Emergent deploys apps through Expo but plans to launch its own mobile app to support native app creation. It also simplifies integration by offering a universal API key, sparing users from setting up multiple service accounts. Beyond app creation, the company is developing a “brainstorming mode” to help beginners shape ideas into functional apps, while also working on discovery and monetization features for creators.
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Despite competition from startups like Vibecode, Rocket, and even design tools like Canva and Figma that are adding app-making features, Emergent’s backers believe it has the technical depth to stand out. “One of the biggest roadblocks for participating in the digital economy is the ability to code,” said Hemant Mohapatra, Partner at Lightspeed. “Emergent lowers that bar to nearly zero by supporting the entire app lifecycle, from building to deployment and support, with AI.”
With the new funding, Emergent aims to expand its platform, attract more creators, and solidify its position in the fast-growing “vibe coding” market.
