Virtuoso lands $13m Series A to further develop codeless, AI-powered test automation platform

LONDON, Nov. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtuoso, the company leading the quality-first revolution with its game-changing AI-powered testing automation platform, has announced a $13.3 million Series A round led by Paladin Capital and joined by Mubadala Capital and existing investors Crane Venture Partners, Forward Partners and Downing Ventures.

Virtuoso's mission is to reimagine software testing. Their SaaS platform, which launched in 2019, uses machine learning and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to make testing simpler and faster. Using Virtuoso, QA teams can identify bugs and errors in a fraction of the time taken by existing solutions, cutting down testing time by up to 10x and decreasing QA costs by 80–90%.

Pressure for companies to release software quickly is at odds with the reality of slow testing processes. More than half the companies surveyed as part of Capgemini's 2019-2020 World Quality Report said they lacked the right tools for testing and couldn't automate to the level needed.^[1] At the same time there are other implications to consider; in the Capgemini report, 60% of businesses cited cost as the greatest QA challenge faced.

These costs, paired with increasing demands on companies and their developer teams, mean the Software Testing Automation market is projected to grow from $12.6b in 2019 to $28.8b in 2024, according to Global Market Insights.

Adil Mohammed, serial entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of Virtuoso, recognised the opportunity in the market, himself frustrated by the challenges associated with the testing process. "The way software testing is currently being done is not fit for purpose," he commented. "When done inefficiently, the QA and testing process can be a big barrier to growth. We want to change that."

The business's long-term goal is to create fully autonomous testing with little to no human interaction. The first step, its current codeless "intelligent automation" QA platform, replicates the actions of a person when testing applications. Delivering on the promise of codeless test automation, Virtuoso enables non-coders and coders alike to write automated tests in plain English using an advanced NLP and Capture engine, allowing teams to properly "shift-left" and author fully functioning tests even before a single line of code is written. In turn, this drastically reduces the time taken by the entire testing process and allows companies to release better software faster.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Mohammed added. "Be it visual regression or API testing, we are pushing the boundaries of what is expected from a test automation platform. Partnering with Paladin and Mubadala Capital means we can take our product to software and testing teams in new markets and we're excited to see its impact."

Virtuoso plans to use its investment to expand its sales team, increase market share in the USA, and develop its product to become the world's first autonomous testing platform.

Ken Pentimonti, Principal and European Manager, Paladin Capital Group commented, "In the fragmented Software Testing Automation market, Virtuoso is way ahead of the curve in terms of versatility, the tech stack, and its ease of use." Pentimonti concluded, "As an investor backing companies that seek to protect and strengthen our digital infrastructure, Virtuoso fits well with two of Paladin's key goals – to enhance application security globally and to help European startups scale in the USA. We look forward to helping the team succeed in its mission."

CONTACT

Emma Thorpe, Communications Advisor, Paladin Capital Group: +44 7909 974958

ABOUT VIRTUOSO

Virtuoso's mission is to enable and lead the world's quality-first revolution. The field of QA has not kept pace with the software industry's transition to CI/CD. We are fixing that.

Virtuoso has reimagined how software is tested by developing a game-changing platform that is already being used by the biggest companies in the world. We passionately believe that quality is a key driver for change and growth. To achieve this, anyone should be able to create and maintain automated tests, regardless of their technical skill.  We have leveraged the latest advances in AI and Machine Learning to produce test automation software that thinks like a human, empowers everyone to automate testing, and, for the first time delivers, on the promise of codeless test automation.

ABOUT PALADIN CAPITAL GROUP

Paladin Capital Group was founded in 2001 and has offices in Washington DC, New York, London, Luxembourg, and Silicon Valley. As a multi-stage investor, Paladin focuses on companies with technologies, products, and services that meet the challenging global cyber security and digital infrastructure resilience needs for commercial and government customers. Follow the firm on Twitter @Paladincap and visit www.paladincapgroup.com.

^[1] https://www.capgemini.com/research/world-quality-report-2019/

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