Former Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey Launches Startup DevRev

Just seven months after the former Nutanix co-founder and CEO departed Nutanix, Dheeraj Pandey came out of stealth mode Wednesday with the launch of a software startup that has already hired over 75 people and generated $50 million in seed funding.

Nutanix’s former CEO and industry superstar, Dheeraj Pandey, burst out of stealth mode Wednesday with a new software company that already has generated $50 million in seed funding, hired over 75 people and has a product ready to hit the market next year with a focus on bringing developers closer to customers and revenue.

Pandey’s launch of his new startup, called DevRev, comes just seven months after his departure from Nutanix, where he was the face and the leader of the hyperconverged and hybrid cloud software star. Pandey co-founded DevRev alongside Nutanix’s former senior vice president of engineering, Manoj Agarwal, who, like Pandey, also left Nutanix in 2020.

With Palo Alto, Calif.-based DevRev, the former Nutanix all stars are aiming to make life simpler for developers so they no longer have to work across silos of systems. The startup is building an API-first dev-centric CRM offering that leverages data, design and machine intelligence to empower developers to build, support and grow their business.

“Today, every company is a software company, yet we isolate developers (dev) from customers and revenue (rev),” said Pandey in a statement. “By removing the bureaucracy between makers and consumers—with APIs, design and an opinionated engagement model—we will empower devs to create customer-conscious products and businesses. That’s our mission: Bring dev and rev together.”

[Related: Nutanix CEO: ‘No Plans’ For Layoffs Ahead With New Vision]

The startup is launching out of stealth mode with $50 million in seed funding, backed by investors including Mayfield Fund, Khosla Ventures and several “industry luminaries,” according to DevRev. The software startup has already recruited more than 75 people and is building teams in Austin, Texas; Bangalore; Slovenia; and in the San Francisco Bay area.

DevRev is targeting 2022 for its product to become generally available. Driven by a design-first, API-first and machine intelligence culture, DevRev will enable developers and customers to communicate and collaborate with each other socially and in real time.

Using the platform DevRev is creating, developers will be able to connect their code to production issues and customer interactions in a singular unified experience. The company said DevRev will help developers create modern product-led growth companies that are cloud-centric and service-oriented.

Pandey could not be reached by press time.

“Being product builders ourselves, Dheeraj and I have both felt the pain in leaving developers in the back office,” said DevRev’s Agarwal in a statement. “With a headless dev-centric CRM vision, we are looking to bring developers to the forefront of decision-making and real-time customer collaboration.”

DevRev said it is remote-friendly and will maintain purely digital operations, using social platforms to recruit talent, generate ideas and build a community around its product. With automation, search and a unique product-led candidate experience, DevRev has built a team of “DevRevelers” in less than six months, according to the startup.

In August 2020, news broke that Pandey was retiring from Nutanix, a company he built from the ground up into a $1.6 billion software superstar.

“Co-founding and leading Nutanix for the last 11 years has been the single most rewarding experience of my professional career,” said Pandey in August.

After months of searching for a new CEO, Nutanix selected former VMware executive Rajiv Ramaswami as its new CEO in December 2020.