Thunder Code, a startup by Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, the founders behind African SaaS startup Expensya, has raised $9 million in seed funding to build the future of AI infrastructure for developers—starting in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
Thunder Code is targeting a growing gap in the AI ecosystem: developers who want to build, deploy, and scale AI applications without the pain of managing costly and complex infrastructure.
Thunder Code is developing a lightweight AI infrastructure layer designed to help devs deploy AI models on-prem, on edge, or hybrid cloud, drastically cut down on compute costs and time to deployment and enable efficient model training, fine-tuning, and scaling—even in bandwidth-limited regions.
The startup is positioning itself as a “Dev-first AI stack”, giving engineers the flexibility to build smarter apps, without needing enterprise-sized resources.
While investor details remain under wraps, the $9M seed round includes a mix of international VCs and strategic angels. The funds will go toward scaling product development, expanding engineering and support teams and launching operations across Africa, Europe, and MENA.
“We want to empower developers—especially in underserved markets—to unlock the full potential of AI,” said CEO Karim Jouini. “Thunder Code gives them the tools to do just that.”
Karim and Jihed’s previous venture, Expensya, was acquired in 2023 after scaling across 60 countries. With Thunder Code, they’re applying their proven product and go-to-market expertise to tackle the infrastructure bottlenecks holding AI innovation back in emerging markets.
Their re-entry signals growing investor confidence in African-founded deep tech, and puts Thunder Code on the radar as a startup to watch in the global AI infrastructure race.
Thunder Code’s launch couldn’t be better timed. As more African businesses and governments explore AI to solve local challenges—from health diagnostics to climate resilience—the need for accessible, developer-friendly infrastructure is growing fast. Thunder Code is betting that the next wave of innovation won’t come from Silicon Valley, but from Lagos, Dakar, Nairobi, and beyond—if the tools are right.
The founders are also exploring partnerships with universities, AI research labs, and cloud providers to foster talent and drive adoption across the continent. “AI isn’t just the future—it’s the now,” said CTO Jihed Othmani. “But to build inclusive AI, we need inclusive infrastructure. That’s our mission with Thunder Code.”
