Vishal Sikka is back, and the market is paying attention. Just four months after launching Hang Ten Systems, the former Infosys CEO has secured an additional $53 million in seed funding, bringing the startup’s total raise to $85 million. This second tranche closed merely five weeks after the initial $32 million round, led by Temasek’s Xora platform with participation from Mayfield, Aramco Ventures, and tech heavyweights like Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The speed of this capital influx signals strong investor confidence in Sikka’s thesis: that generative AI can collapse the time and cost of enterprise software development to near zero.
Hang Ten isn’t building another foundation model. Instead, it positions itself as an independent partner for large enterprises, helping them define requirements and validate systems rather than just writing code. The startup claims its in-house framework, Hobie, allows teams of two to four engineers to handle projects that previously required thirty people. Sikka told TechCrunch that this shift has already resulted in multimillion-dollar contracts signed within 25 days of first contact—a pace he described as unprecedented in his decades of experience. Current clients include Fresenius Kabi, Saudi Aramco, and Siemens Energy, spanning the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
The company faces a crowded field, competing against both traditional systems integrators and AI model providers expanding their enterprise services. However, Hang Ten argues its independence is its moat. “Enterprises still need trusted partners who are independent of the underlying platform,” Sikka said. By focusing on regulated industries and complex legacy modernization, the startup aims to deliver production-ready software rather than mere proofs of concept. Rajagopalan, co-founder and chief design officer, emphasized that they are promising a tenfold improvement in cost or speed, a claim that directly threatens the billing models of incumbent consultancies.
Despite receiving serious acquisition offers from major tech firms, Sikka has declined to sell, choosing instead to expand his engineering and sales teams across India and Europe. He noted that Hang Ten benefits from lacking the “burden of legacy” that weighs down older service providers like his former employer, Infosys. With eight-figure deals in the pipeline and a lean operational model, the question isn’t whether AI changes software development, but how quickly traditional integrators can adapt before startups like Hang Ten render their headcount-heavy models obsolete.
