EngFlow invested in tipi.build and launched CMake RE, a remote C++ build beta

Build acceleration service with remote execution for build tools such as Bazel, Goma and Soong, extended to CMake

Pairing tipi's CMake caching and dependency analysis with EngFlow's distributed build engine lets C and C++ teams build far faster

EngFlow, run by co-founder and CEO Helen Altshuler with CTO Ulf Adams, who were instrumental in creating Bazel, had supported tools like Bazel, Goma and Soong. The team flew to Switzerland in 2022 to meet tipi.build's founders, Damien Buhl and Yannic Staudt, who were initially wary about whether EngFlow was a competitor or partner.

Buhl said tipi was raising a round and choosing between term sheets when EngFlow visited and both saw true synergy: tipi focuses on CMake, C++ and native compile technology and wanted a partner that could do remoting efficiently. Asked if EngFlow had considered acquiring tipi, the executives laughed and gave no comment.

On 5 October 2023 EngFlow announced an investment in tipi, size undisclosed, and the two launched a beta of CMake RE, combining tipi's caching and parsing with EngFlow's cloud-based distributed builds. The companies said compiling a large codebase on a laptop can take hours and that CMake RE promises about a 10x speedup, a claim from the vendors.

CMake is the standard for C++ builds but had no remote execution service

tipi had caching and dependency analysis but needed efficient remoting

EngFlow's founders had built expertise in cloud-based distributed builds from Bazel

The two met when tipi was choosing between term sheets, so an investment fit its funding timing

A well-funded infrastructure startup can extend into an adjacent tool by investing in a specialist rather than building or buying it, and the startup's own speed claims need independent benchmarks.

As of 2023-10-05, EngFlow had invested an undisclosed amount in tipi.build and launched the CMake RE beta; the claimed 10x speedup had not been independently benchmarked in the report.