Charles Esther
In 2023, Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, co-founders of the African expense management startup Expensya, sold their company to Swedish procurement software firm Medius in one of the continent’s largest startup acquisitions.
Although the exact deal terms were not disclosed, some reports estimate the sale was just over $120 million.
Following this success, both founders swore off entrepreneurship, with Jouini taking on a CTO role at the merged company.
Medius’s acquisition spree now spans three continents, showing the wide scope of their growth strategy.
However, the rise of generative AI reignited their entrepreneurial spirit.
The duo has now launched Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform, securing $9 million in seed funding in under six months.
Jouini expressed surprise at their return to startups, noting how Expensya’s challenges had once made them vow never to do it again.
He compared starting Thunder Code to having a second child, where the memory of difficulties fades but passion remains.
Despite the intense early pace, the founders are convinced Thunder Code is destined for unicorn status.
Jouini’s role at Medius reignited his excitement for technology as he oversaw integrating six companies across continents.
This experience highlighted software testing as a universal challenge, sparking the idea for Thunder Code.
The platform uses AI-powered “agents” to mimic human testers, automating quality assurance by catching subtle UI and UX issues and learning from feedback.
Thunder Code’s AI agents speed up what has traditionally been a slow and manual process.
Within six weeks, the team shipped their minimum viable product (MVP), showing a focus on speed and iterative improvement that contrasts with Expensya’s early, slower development.
The company has already attracted paying customers and pilot programs in the U.S., Canada, France, and Tunisia.
Thunder Code collaborates with delivery managers, QA shops, and developer teams aiming to test and deploy software faster.
Its current focus is on web application testing, with plans to expand to mobile, desktop, and API testing by late 2025.
Drawing from Expensya’s lessons, Jouini emphasises prioritizing core features and hiring top talent early, even if it means diluting ownership.
He challenges a common fear among African entrepreneurs of giving up equity, arguing that creating a unicorn with dilution is valuable.
Jouini also believes AI will enable Thunder Code to deliver ten times the value with fewer staff, reflecting a broader shift to leaner, AI-powered teams.
Though moving from expense management to developer tools was a big leap, Jouini sees software testing as a larger and more complex market.
The global software testing market is projected to exceed $100 billion by 2027, but remains dominated by slower, legacy platforms like Tricentis and BrowserStack.
Jouini believes Thunder Code’s rapid AI-driven approach gives it a competitive edge, even amid a crowded market that includes players like UIPath, Jetify, and Nova AI.
Thunder Code is headquartered in Paris, with an office in Tunis, reflecting its international ambitions.
Co-founder Othmani brings strong generative AI expertise, having developed AI tools at Expensya before the ChatGPT boom.
Their complementary skills, combined with the $9 million seed funding, position Thunder Code well for fast growth.
Investors in the round include familiar backers from Expensya such as Silicon Badia and Jaango Capital, along with Titan Seed Fund and strategic angels like Roxanne Varza, Director of Station F, and Karim Beguir, CEO of Africa’s leading AI startup Instadeep.
Notably, former and current Expensya employees who cashed out during the acquisition also invested in Thunder Code.
Jouini expressed pride that some investors come from their previous company, highlighting a strong community spirit behind the new venture.
Thunder Code’s story shows how African tech entrepreneurs are leveraging global opportunities and cutting-edge AI to build the next generation of software tools.
