Elon Musk’s xAI brings in Indian-origin developer Aman Gottumukkala

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has brought in Indian-origin developer Aman Gottumukkala, founder of AI coding assistant Firebender, as competition intensifies in building tools for software development, India Today reported.

Gottumukkala said he will work on developing advanced AI systems to assist programmers, as companies race to automate coding and improve developer productivity.

He built Firebender, an AI-powered coding assistant for Android developers that integrates with platforms such as Android Studio and JetBrains IDEs. The tool helps developers generate code, manage projects and streamline routine programming tasks.

According to India Today, Firebender scaled to millions of dollars in revenue with a team of just three people, underscoring how AI tools are enabling smaller teams to build commercially viable products.
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Before founding Firebender, Gottumukkala worked at Paradigm on technology projects linked to the crypto ecosystem. He was also part of the KP Fellowship, a programme connecting engineers and founders with venture capital firms.

Announcing the move, Gottumukkala pointed to the rapid pace of AI development and the need for large-scale computing and talent to build next-generation systems. He said xAI offers the infrastructure required to work on such problems.

The hiring comes as AI companies including OpenAI and Anthropic invest heavily in coding assistants powered by large models, which are emerging as a key battleground in the industry.

Gottumukkala’s move reflects a broader trend of top AI talent consolidating within a few leading firms, as the sector pushes towards more capable and automated software development tools.