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FreemiumBy Phind Inc.

Phind

Phind is the AI search engine for developers. Phind-70B/405B models (92% HumanEval). 4x faster than GPT-4. Generous free tier, Pro $20/mo. YC S22, $11M+ funding.

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Description

Phind

Overview

Phind is the AI search engine designed specifically for developers - combining intelligent web search with proprietary LLMs trained for code, offering precise technical answers with code snippets, explanations, and references in seconds.
Founded in 2022 by Michael Royzen and Justin Wei while studying at the University of Texas at Austin (Turing Scholars). Backed by Y Combinator (S22) and Paul Graham. Headquartered in San Francisco, California.
World's first LLM search engine - publicly launched in July 2022 after a successful demo in January 2022. With 90M+ answers generated, millions of active users, and proprietary models that outperform GPT-4 on code benchmarks, Phind has become "StackOverflow on steroids" for developers.

Evolution and Milestones

DateEvent
Jan 2022First internet-connected LLM demo
Jul 2022Public launch, Y Combinator S22
Summer 2023Phind-34B open-source (74.7% HumanEval, beat GPT-4)
Feb 2024Phind-70B (82.3% HumanEval, 4x faster than GPT-4)
Sep 2024Phind-405B (92% HumanEval, matches Claude 3.5 Sonnet)
Dec 2025$10.4M round (Bessemer, SV Angel, YC)

Proprietary Models

Phind Model Family

ModelBaseHumanEvalFeatures
Phind-InstantLlama 3.1 8B-350 tokens/sec, ultra-fast
Phind-70BCodeLlama-70B82.3%80 tokens/sec, 32K context
Phind-405BLlama 3.1 405B92%128K tokens, flagship

Phind-70B (Detail)

AspectSpecification
BaseCodeLlama-70B + 50B additional tokens
HumanEval82.3% (vs GPT-4 Turbo 81.1%)
CRUXEval59% (vs GPT-4 62%)
Speed80 tokens/sec (4x GPT-4 Turbo)
Context Window32K tokens
InfrastructureNVIDIA H100 + TensorRT-LLM

Phind-405B (Flagship)

AspectSpecification
BaseMeta Llama 3.1 405B
HumanEval92% (matches Claude 3.5 Sonnet)
Context128K tokens (32K at launch)
Training256 H100 GPUs, FP8 mixed precision
Memory40% less usage vs BF16

Main Features

AI Search Engine

FeatureDescription
Context-Aware SearchUnderstands deep technical context
Multi-Step ReasoningChained searches mid-response
Code SnippetsResponses with executable code
Source CitationsLinks to original documentation
Visual AnswersDiagrams, embedded images

Interactive Mini-Apps (Phind 2.0)

FeatureDescription
Generative UICreates mini-apps to visualize answers
Jupyter IntegrationLive code execution
Interactive WidgetsExpandable elements, tutorials
In-Browser ExecutionTest code without switching tabs

VS Code Extension

FeatureDescription
Highlight & ExplainSelect code, get explanation
Debugging AssistanceContextual error analysis
Refactoring SuggestionsCode improvements
Codebase AwarenessUnderstands your project

Pair Programmer

FeatureDescription
Idea to ProductFrom concept to implementation
Step-by-Step GuidanceDetailed instructions
Clarifying QuestionsAsks to better understand
Multi-LanguagePython, JS, C++, Rust, Go, SQL, more

Pricing (2025)

Free

FeatureIncluded
Unlimited Phind-Instant✅
Phind-70B/405B10 uses/day
GPT-410 uses/day
Basic support✅

Phind Plus - $10/mo

FeatureIncluded
Automatic Multi-Search✅
Deep Research✅
Higher allowances✅

Phind Pro - $20/mo ($17/mo annual, $200/year)

FeatureIncluded
Unlimited Phind-70B/405B✅
GPT-4o500+ uses/day
Claude 3.7 Sonnet500+ uses/day
Claude Opus10 uses/day
Multi-query mode✅
Image analysis✅
Extended context (8K tokens)✅
Early access features✅
Private Discord✅
Data opt-out✅

Business - $40/user/mo

FeatureIncluded
Everything in Pro✅
Zero data retention (OpenAI/Anthropic)✅
Centralized billing✅
Team management✅
Data excluded from training✅

Languages and Technologies Supported

Programming Languages

BackendFrontendOthers
PythonJavaScriptRust
JavaTypeScriptGo
C++ReactSQL
C#AngularTerraform
RubyVueDocker

Frameworks and Platforms

CategoryTechnologies
WebNext.js, Django, Flask, Express
CloudAWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes
DatabasesPostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
DevOpsDocker, Terraform, CI/CD
ML/AIPyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn

Metrics and Growth

Users and Engagement

MetricValue
Answers generated90M+
Active usersMillions
Weekly growth5-10%
Response time<5 seconds

Performance vs Competition

BenchmarkPhind-405BGPT-4 TurboClaude 3.5 Sonnet
HumanEval92%81.1%92%
Speed80 tok/s20 tok/s-

Funding

Investment Rounds

DateRoundAmountInvestors
Jul 2022Pre-Seed/YC$500KY Combinator, A.Capital
Dec 2025Seed$10.4MBessemer, SV Angel, YC
Total~$11M

Investors

  • Y Combinator (S22)
  • Bessemer Venture Partners
  • SV Angel
  • A.Capital Ventures
  • Paul Graham (backing)
  • NEA (Series A $14M mentioned)
  • Liquid 2 Ventures

Infrastructure

Cloud Partners

PartnerUse
AWSMain infrastructure, EC2 P4d/P5
SF ComputeTraining, deployment
NVIDIAH100 GPUs, TensorRT-LLM
MetaLlama base models
Voltage ParkComputing

Technology

AspectDetail
TrainingAWS ParallelCluster
GPUsNVIDIA A100, H100
OptimizationTensorRT-LLM (5x speedup)
PrecisionFP8 mixed precision

Use Cases

Debugging

  • Paste error, get likely causes
  • Step-by-step solutions
  • Verification against logs

API Integration

  • Sample requests/responses
  • Adapt to your language
  • Safe testing

Learning

  • Framework roadmaps
  • Small projects to validate
  • Find knowledge gaps

Architecture

  • Design patterns
  • Trade-offs explained
  • Authoritative citations

Security Review

  • Common pitfalls
  • Mitigations
  • Compliance with standards

PROS ✅

  • Code Specialized - Not a generic chatbot
  • Proprietary Models - Phind-70B/405B beat GPT-4 on HumanEval
  • 4x Faster - 80 tokens/sec vs GPT-4's 20
  • Generous Free Tier - Unlimited Phind-Instant
  • VS Code Extension - Native IDE integration
  • Source Citations - Links to documentation
  • Mini-Apps - Interactive visualization
  • Multi-Language - All popular languages
  • Long Context - Up to 128K tokens
  • No Login Required - Try without registration
  • Y Combinator - Backed by Paul Graham
  • Constantly Improving - 5-10% weekly growth

CONS ❌

  • Precise Queries Required - Not as good with vague prompts
  • Premium for GPT-4 - Best model behind paywall
  • No Full Project Awareness - Doesn't index full codebase like Cody
  • UI Can Overwhelm - Visually dense layout
  • Strong Competition - GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cody
  • No Public API - Not for external integrations
  • Partial Open-Source - Only some models released

vs Competitors

vsPhind WinsCompetitor Wins
GitHub CopilotExplanations, debugging, citationsNative IDE autocomplete
CursorWeb search, citations, freeComplete AI-native editor
PerplexityCode-specific, debuggingGeneral research, citations
ChatGPTCode specialized, fasterGeneral versatility
CodyConversational, web searchFull codebase indexing
Google SearchDirect answers with codeBreadth of results

When to Use Each

ToolBest For
PhindDebugging, documentation, learning code
CopilotAutocomplete while coding
CursorComplete AI-first IDE
PerplexityTechnical research, architecture
CodyLarge codebase navigation

Company Information

  • Name: Phind Inc.
  • Founded: 2022
  • Headquarters: San Francisco, California
  • Employees: ~4-10
  • Accelerator: Y Combinator S22
  • Total Funding: ~$11M+

Founders

NameRoleBackground
Michael RoyzenCEO, Co-founderUT Austin Turing Scholar, Microsoft Research (age 17), Lyft ML, Cloudflare
Justin WeiCo-founderUT Austin Turing Scholar

Recognition

  • World's First LLM Search Engine (Jan 2022)
  • Phind-34B beat GPT-4 on HumanEval (2023)
  • 92% HumanEval with Phind-405B (matches Claude 3.5 Sonnet)
  • Y Combinator S22 batch
  • Paul Graham backing
  • "StackOverflow on steroids" - community

Future

Announced Plans

  • AI-first native desktop app
  • Complete idea-to-product workflow
  • More open-source models
  • Mini-apps expansion
  • Continuous speed improvements (TensorRT 5x)

Vision

"Reimagine what coding should look like from the ground up" - build AI-native tools, not shoehorned into existing IDEs.

Key Features

AI search engine specialized developers

Proprietary models Phind-70B 405B code

Context-aware search deep technical

Code snippets executable responses

Source citations original documentation

VS Code extension IDE integration

Interactive mini-apps visualization

Multi-step reasoning chained searches

Jupyter integration code execution

Pair programmer idea to product

Multi-language Python JS C++ Rust Go

Debugging assistance error analysis

Refactoring suggestions code improvements

128K context window flagship

80 tokens second 4x GPT-4

Deep research automatic multi-search

Image analysis Pro feature

Private Discord community

Zero data retention Business

Generous free tier Phind-Instant

Use Cases

Debugging code error analysis

Documentation API docs search

Learning frameworks new technologies

Code generation executable snippets

Architecture patterns system design

API integration sample requests

Security review pitfalls mitigations

Refactoring existing code improvement

Testing strategies coverage

DevOps Terraform Docker Kubernetes

Database queries SQL optimization

Frontend React Angular Vue

Backend Python Java Node.js

Cloud AWS GCP Azure

ML/AI PyTorch TensorFlow

Performance optimization profiling

Code review best practices

Troubleshooting production issues

Learning new programming languages

Technical interviews preparation

Tags

FreemiumPaidFree

Information

Company

Phind Inc.

Website

www.phind.com

User Reviews