The global standard for hosting software code is facing a serious new challenger from Europe. Tangled has officially secured $4.5 million in funding to build a decentralized alternative to Microsoft owned GitHub. This fresh capital injection aims to reshape how developers collaborate by prioritizing data sovereignty and modern workflows. With backing from former GitHub leadership, this startup is betting big that the future of coding belongs to the community rather than a single corporation.
Heavy Hitters Back the New Vision for Code
The funding round was led by the community powered venture firm byFounders. Participation also came from Bain Capital Crypto and Antler.
However, the list of angel investors is attracting the most attention in the tech world. It includes industry veterans who understand the coding landscape better than anyone else.
Notable investors backing Tangled include:
- Thomas Dohmke: The former CEO of GitHub itself.
- Avery Pennarun: The current CEO of Tailscale.
- Mårten Mickos: The former CEO of MySQL and HackerOne.
- Sami Honkonen: A well known Finnish angel investor.
Support from a former GitHub chief executive serves as a massive validation for Tangled. It suggests that even those who built the current incumbent see the need for a new direction.
“The bottleneck in software development has shifted from writing code to reviewing and managing it at scale,” noted Jussi Kallasvuo, a Partner at Antler.
The founders behind this ambitious project are brothers Akshay and Anirudh Oppiliappan. They bring deep experience from building distributed systems at various Y Combinator startups. Akshay operates out of London, while Anirudh is based in Helsinki. This cross border setup highlights the company’s strong European roots.
decentralized coding platform tangled logo abstract visualization
Solving the Data Sovereignty Puzzle in Europe
For the last 15 years, GitHub has been the default home for the world’s open source code. But things changed after Microsoft acquired the platform for $7.5 billion in 2018.
Many developers feel that the platform has become complacent. There are growing concerns about how code stored on centralized US servers is used to train AI models without explicit permission.
Tangled addresses this by offering a decentralized approach.
They allow users to host their own code on their own infrastructure. This ensures that European developers can comply with strict local data laws while maintaining total control over their intellectual property.
“We decided to build Tangled as a decentralized, European company where users can host their own code on their own infrastructure and share it on their own terms.”
— Anirudh Oppiliappan, CEO and Co-founder of Tangled.
The platform utilizes a system called “Knots.”
A Knot is a lightweight server that runs on the user’s own hardware. When a developer pushes code to their Knot, it connects seamlessly with the wider Tangled network. It feels like a centralized site to the user, but the data remains distributed.
This model is already finding success in the academic world. Researchers at Cambridge are reportedly using Knots to host and collaborate on research codebases securely.
Rethinking How Developers Merge and Manage Work
Ideology alone is rarely enough to get users to switch platforms. The product actually has to work better than the status quo.
Tangled is betting on a feature called “Stacked PRs” to win over engineers.
The traditional Pull Request (PR) model used by GitHub was invented in 2009. It involves merging large batches of code at once. This often leads to bottlenecks and makes reviewing code a painful process for teams.
Big tech companies like Google and Meta moved away from this years ago internally. They use stacked changes where small, atomic updates are layered on top of each other.
Tangled is bringing this advanced workflow to the public.
Comparison of Workflow Models:
| Feature | Traditional GitHub Model | Tangled Stacked Model |
|---|---|---|
| Code Submission | Massive chunks of code | Small, atomic changes |
| Review Process | Slow and often overwhelming | Fast and independent |
| Updates | Hard to isolate specific fixes | Layered and easy to manage |
| Dependency | All changes merge together | Changes merge independently |
The startup worked with an ex-Meta engineer to design this system. It aims to make the review process faster and less stressful for contributors.
This technical shift is crucial. It creates a practical reason for developers to switch beyond just privacy concerns.
Building Infrastructure for the AI Agent Era
The future of coding is not just human. We are entering an era where AI agents will write and manage significant portions of software.
Current platforms impose strict API limits that make it hard for autonomous agents to work freely. Tangled is building its infrastructure on the AT Protocol to solve this.
This is the same protocol that powers the decentralized social network Bluesky.
On Tangled, new actors can participate without relying on a proprietary API. This allows AI agents to create repositories, submit code, and review changes just like a human user would.
The founders have already observed autonomous agents successfully pushing code to the platform.
“Whatever the next generation of collaborative software development becomes, whether it’s indie hackers or autonomous agents, we intend to be the infrastructure layer that enables it,” Anirudh explained.
This forward thinking approach positions them well for the next decade.
They are not just building a storage locker for code. They are building a social layer where code and community live together.
The platform currently boasts around 900 active members on Discord. They also have a strong following of roughly 18,000 people on Bluesky.
A Free Tier for the Open Source Community
Monetization is often a tricky subject for developer tools. Tangled is taking inspiration from successful companies like Tailscale.
The plan is to keep the core product free for individual developers and open source projects. Revenue will eventually come from charging businesses for advanced enterprise features.
Anirudh stated that roughly 80 percent of users will get the product for free. The remaining 20 percent who need complex capabilities will pay.
This freemium model helps build goodwill. It ensures that the platform grows through genuine user adoption rather than aggressive sales tactics.
The new funding will allow the team to scale operations. They plan to refine the product and expand their reach across the European tech ecosystem.
It is a bold bet to take on a giant like Microsoft. But with a focus on privacy, better workflows, and AI readiness, Tangled has a fighting chance.
In a tech world dominated by American giants, Tangled offers a refreshing alternative. They have secured the cash, the talent, and the technology to make a real impact. Now they just need to convince the millions of developers wedded to GitHub to make the jump. It is not just about storing code anymore. It is about who owns the future of software creation.
What do you think about decentralized coding platforms? Would you switch from GitHub to own your data? Let us know in the comments below!
