Autify Unveils Zenes, an AI Agent for Software Quality Assurance

With the rise of generative AI, various industries, including software development, are undergoing significant transformations. One notable development in this field is the introduction of Zenes, an AI agent for software quality assurance (QA), by San Francisco- and Tokyo-based startup Autify.

About Autify and Zenes

Autify, founded by former software engineers Ryo Chikazawa and Sam Yamashita in 2016, has developed an AI-powered platform to enhance software quality assurance. The platform, known as Autify NoCode, aims to streamline workflows, increase productivity, and save time and resources for developers and QA teams.

Recent Developments and Funding

On Monday, Autify announced the closure of a $13 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $30 million. This amount includes $24 million in equity and $6 million in debt financing. The latest round was co-led by Global Capital Partners and LG Technology Ventures, with participation from existing investors World Innovation Lab (WiL), Salesforce Ventures, Archetype Venture, and Uncorrelated Ventures.

As part of this announcement, Autify also introduced the beta version of Zenes, specifically designed for U.S.-based customers. Zenes is an autonomous AI agent that generates test cases by analyzing product requirement documents, writes automated test codes, and maintains them automatically. This innovation promises to reduce the time required to create test cases by 55%, distinguishing it from other market offerings.

Features and Functionality of Zenes

Zenes enables users to upload product requirement documents in various formats, including .html, .pdf, .docx, and .md. The AI agent then generates a set of outlined test cases based on the product specifications. Users can edit these test cases to improve accuracy before Zenes generates the automated test codes.

According to Chikazawa, Zenes aims to enhance human capabilities rather than replace them. "Companies that have been heavily investing in automation by writing code don’t need to adapt to no-code/[low-code] because they can code. However, they are still suffering from the lack of resources," Chikazawa said. "With the launch of Zenes, now we can capture an even earlier stage of software quality assurance, which is designing and creating test cases, and we will be able to provide a comprehensive end-to-end solution for the entire QA process."

Market Expansion and Future Plans

Autify plans to use the new capital to implement additional AI capabilities and support customers' software QA needs. The company has also partnered with LG CNS, an IT service unit of LG Corp, to expand into the Korean market, in addition to its core markets in the U.S. and Japan.

Since its Series A round in 2021, Autify has expanded its services to 16 countries, up from two. The startup serves both B2C and B2B customers, including notable companies such as DeNA, NEC, NTT Smart Communication, Yahoo, and ZoZo. Additionally, Autify's staff has grown from 30 employees in 2021 to over 100.

Summary

Autify’s Zenes represents a significant advancement in software quality assurance, leveraging AI to streamline the testing process and improve efficiency. As the company continues to innovate and expand, its impact on the software development industry is likely to grow, driven by a commitment to enhancing human capabilities through AI.