Emergent Raises $23M to Empower Non-Technical Users in App Creation with AI-Powered Development

Emergent, a startup founded by twin brothers Mukund and Madhav Jha, has raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed, bringing its total funding to $30 million. The company aims to empower non-technical users to build mobile and web applications using simple prompts, positioning itself as a platform for democratizing app development—similar to how social media platforms enabled everyday users to become content creators. Unlike developer-focused tools such as Claude Code or Cursor, Emergent is designed for people without coding experience. The platform uses AI agents to handle complex tasks like API integration, error detection, and deployment, abstracting away the technical details. When tested, the app guided users through a series of clarifying questions to shape the final product—such as defining user roles, adding features like reminders, and designing intuitive screens—before automatically generating and testing a functional app in under 30 minutes. Mukund Jha, formerly CTO at Indian quick commerce startup Dunzo, and his brother Madhav, a former Dropbox engineer, were inspired to build Emergent after observing the rapid advancement of AI-powered coding tools in 2023. They believed that AI agents would soon enable a new wave of app creation, and that the next generation of digital economy participation would be driven by people’s ability to turn ideas into working apps—without needing to learn to code. The company has already seen strong early adoption, with over 1 million users building more than 1.5 million apps since its launch. To support scalability, Emergent has built its own infrastructure from the ground up, including a universal API key system that simplifies integration with third-party services like email providers or cloud storage, eliminating the need for users to manage multiple accounts or keys. While the platform currently uses Expo for mobile app deployment, it plans to launch its own native mobile app soon. It also includes educational components to help users understand technical concepts like APIs and data flow, ensuring they can make informed decisions during development. Emergent is also developing a brainstorming mode to assist users who have a rough idea but aren’t sure how to structure their app. The company is working to improve app discovery and monetization—key for a sustainable app economy. Currently, users can integrate payment systems like Stripe, but they must provide their own API keys. Future updates will streamline this process, potentially enabling built-in discovery and revenue-sharing features. The startup faces growing competition from players like Canva, Figma, Perplexity, Comet, and Opera Neon, as well as emerging vibe coding startups such as Vibecode and Rocket, which recently raised $15 million. However, Lightspeed partner Hemant Mohapatra highlighted that Emergent stood out due to its focus on the full lifecycle of app development—especially post-launch support, deployment, and maintenance—tasks that many similar tools overlook. “Most people are blocked from joining the digital economy not by creativity, but by the ability to code,” Mohapatra said. “Emergent brings the capability bar next to zero, so app-making becomes a function of intent.”