/dev/agents, which plans to build a cloud-based OS for AI agents that can work across phones, laptops, and cars, raised $56M, a source says at a $500M valuation
Former Google, Stripe Executives Raise $56 Million for AI Agent Startup www.bloomberg.com/news/article... X: Shirin Ghaffary / @shiringhaffary : NEW: A group of leaders who helped build the Android platform including @dps @hbarra are starting a new company to build an operating system for AI agents. Just raised $56m round at a $500m valuation led by Index and co-led by CapitalG Gift link: https://www.bloomberg.com/... Hugo Barra / @hbarra : I'm starting a new company with some of the best people I've ever worked with, and could not be more pumped. We're calling it /dev/agents. Going back to our Android roots, building a new operating system for people & AI agents. Check out @dps's post below for more. We're David Singleton / @dps : 🚀 Excited to announce my new company: /dev/agents. I'm building the next-gen operating system for AI agents, joining my former colleagues @hbarra, @alcor, and @ficus as co-founders. We're excited to partner with @ninaachadjian (Index Ventures) and @jillchase124 (CapitalG). [video]
Context & Ripple Effects
The financing arrives as AI-agent startups were being framed as a potential route to monetizing models, with agent startups attracting substantial funding in the preceding coverage. /dev/agents takes a platform-level approach: a cloud-based operating system rather than a single-purpose agent.
The founders' Android background makes the cross-device ambition consequential: the company is attempting to provide a common layer spanning phones, laptops, and cars, where agents would otherwise be built and deployed separately.
First-order effects
- /dev/agents gains $56M of capital and backing from Index Ventures and CapitalG to build its cloud-based agent OS; its founders can recruit and develop the cross-device platform ahead of a commercial rollout.
- The reported $500M valuation establishes an early market benchmark for a company focused on agent infrastructure rather than a narrowly defined agent application.
Second-order effects
- Device- and platform-specific agent developers may face a build-versus-integrate choice if /dev/agents can offer a shared runtime across endpoints, raising the value of interoperability and developer tooling.
- The deal adds to competitive pressure in an agent market already drawing funding for specialized products, including coding-focused AI agents, while /dev/agents pursues a horizontal layer beneath such applications.
Third-order effects
- If cross-device agent platforms gain adoption, competition could shift from standalone assistants toward control of the operating layer that manages agents across devices and contexts.
- That shift would favor companies able to combine cloud infrastructure, endpoint integrations, and developer ecosystems; it remains uncertain whether one shared layer can overcome the differing requirements of phones, laptops, and cars.
The trend: AI-agent investment is broadening from task-specific applications toward infrastructure intended to make agents portable across devices and software environments.