Editorial illustration for Datadog engineers start AI coding firm Niteshift, backed by Hoffman, Pomel
Datadog engineers start AI coding firm Niteshift, backed...
Handing your proprietary code to OpenAI carries a unique risk. It's not just about a bug. It's about feeding your company's core asset directly to a lab that has, repeatedly, released tools that obliterate its own clients. Two engineers who helped build Datadog into a billion-dollar observability titan are launching a startup on that exact suspicion.
That's a modest sum by AI standards, but the startup, founded by two former early Datadog engineers, has attracted some big-name angels like Reid Hoffman, Datadog's Olivier Pomel and Alexis Lê-Quôc, Ankur Goyal of Braintrust, and Misha Laskin of Reflection AI. Founded by Sajid Mehmood and Conor Branagan, who helped grow Datadog from its early days to a multi-billion valuation, the company has entered the crowded AI coding space with a compelling idea: Why would any company trust its most sensitive assets -- code that runs its products -- directly to model makers like OpenAI and Anthropic, given that those companies are constantly "killing" startups and businesses by launching competing apps?
The $2.5 million round is small. The backers—including Reid Hoffman and Datadog’s founders—are not. Mehmood and Branagan built the dashboard the tech industry uses to watch its own engines.
They know operational trust. Their bet with Niteshift is pragmatic, not technical: in a market where your supplier can become your competitor overnight, the only safe code is code that never leaves your sight.
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Common Questions Answered
Why did Datadog engineers launch Niteshift instead of using existing AI coding tools?
The founders were concerned about the risks of sending proprietary code to third-party AI labs like OpenAI, where their company's core assets could potentially be exposed to competitors. They recognized that suppliers in the AI space can quickly become competitors, making it unsafe to rely on external coding tools for sensitive intellectual property.
What is Niteshift's core value proposition regarding code privacy?
Niteshift operates on the principle that the only truly safe code is code that never leaves a company's own infrastructure. The startup addresses the market need for AI coding assistance that keeps proprietary code completely on-premises rather than sending it to external vendors.
Who are the key backers of Niteshift's $2.5 million funding round?
Niteshift's backers include Reid Hoffman and Datadog's founders, among other notable investors. The involvement of these high-profile figures reflects confidence in the founders' understanding of operational trust and their experience building Datadog into a billion-dollar observability company.
What expertise do Niteshift's founders bring from their Datadog experience?
Mehmood and Branagan built Datadog's dashboard, which has become the standard monitoring tool that the tech industry uses to observe its own systems and engines. Their deep experience in operational visibility and trust management directly informs their approach to solving the code privacy problem with Niteshift.
Further Reading
- Datadog veterans launch AI coding startup Niteshift on a bet against big AI lock-in — TechCrunch
- Observability for AI systems | Olivier Pomel (Datadog) | Perspectives — Pigment Perspectives Podcast
- Senior AI Engineer - APM Experiences - Datadog Careers — Datadog Careers
- Senior Software Engineer - AI Code Gen - Datadog Careers — Datadog Careers
