Phoebe, an AI-powered solution for software glitches, raises $17m in seed funding

Phoebe, an AI startup co-founded by former Stripe executives Matt Henderson and James Summerfield, has raised $17 million in seed funding. The company, which describes itself as an ‘immune system’ for software, aims to revolutionize how software glitches are detected and fixed. The funding round was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Cherry Ventures, marking one of the largest seed rounds for a UK-based company in 2025. Phoebe uses AI agents to monitor live system data and identify software errors in real time, dramatically reducing remediation time by up to 90%. The startup’s mission is rooted in research showing that software developers often spend up to 30% of their time dealing with bugs and errors. This inefficiency contributes to the $400 billion in financial losses caused by software outages globally. The company has already attracted notable clients, including Trainline, the rail booking app, which has seen a significant reduction in incident investigation times thanks to Phoebe’s platform. The backing from GV highlights the growing interest in AI-driven software solutions aimed at preventing failures and improving system reliability.