AI

Developer tooling startup Expo nabs $45M investment

Expo, the developer of a popular open-source tool for building cross-platform applications, today announced that it has raised $45 million in funding.

Developers often implement web application interfaces using an open-source library called React. It organizes interface code into easily manageable modules and speeds up webpage loading times. In 2015, Meta Platforms Inc. open-sourced an enhanced version of the library called React Native that can be used to build not only web services but also iOS and Android apps.

Expo, officially 650 Industries Inc., offers an eponymous framework that speeds up React Native projects. A developer building an iOS, Android and web version of an app usually has to create three different versions of the software. Typically, each edition is written in a different programming language. Expo makes it possible to write everything in JavaScript, which can save a significant amount of time.

The open-source framework also eases other tasks. It includes components that speed up the process of building interface navigation features. Additionally, a tool called CNG automates some of the work involved in rolling out app updates.

Expo generates revenue with paid cloud services that automate additional development tasks. Many of those tasks related to the build phase of development projects. That’s the workflow through which developers turn their code files into a functioning program.

Building an application is a hardware-intensive task that can take a significant amount of time on a local machine. Expo speeds up the process by performing the task in the cloud and caching components that don’t have to be built from scratch. After the process is complete, developers can use the platform to publish their software to app stores.

Another Expo cloud service can be used to host an app’s server-side components. A mobile e-commerce app, for example, might keep product details in a cloud-hosted database. Expo automates tasks such as adding more server-side infrastructure during traffic spikes.

The company announced a new addition to its product portfolio in conjunction with today’s funding milestone. Expo Agent is a programming assistant that uses artificial intelligence to speed up common coding tasks. It provides tips on how developers should deploy their software, fixes bugs and builds integrations with external applications. The tool is in public beta. 

“The problem with agentic app development is that business critical apps are not making it to production,” said Expo co-founder and Chief Executive Charlie Cheever. “That is the problem we are positioned to solve at Expo. We built the infrastructure for mobile apps and we can bake that infrastructure into Expo Agent.”

Georgian led the Series B round. It was joined by Leadout Capital, A Capital and Red Swan.

Expo will use the proceeds from its funding round to enhance the AI tool. Additionally, the company plans to speed up its software build service and add integrations with more third-party tools. 

Image: Expo