Sonar acquired AutoCodeRover, an AI platform from NUS, to enhance software development with automation, reduce costs, and create new R&D jobs in Singapore.
AutoCodeRover, an autonomous AI agent platform for software development, is a spin-off technology of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Sonar, a global leader in code quality and code security solutions, has acquired it. Professor Abhik Roychoudhury and his team from the NUS School of Computing (NUS Computing) developed this innovative technology.
The acquisition highlights the real-world impact of NUS’ research. The innovative platform boosts Sonar’s AI-agent-based code development, driving innovation in software engineering and agentic AI. This exciting partnership will also create new research and development (R&D) jobs in Singapore.
Enhancing the capabilities and efficiency of software developers
Automating software engineering tasks has long been a vision among software developers. Over the past decades, significant progress has been made to enhance developers’ capabilities and efficiency by automating parts of the software development process.
AutoCodeRover is among the first AI agent platforms to combine state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs) with sophisticated code search capabilities to solve software engineering issues automatically. It automates key steps in the software development lifecycle, such as debugging, issue remediation, and code refactoring, enabling developers to address real-world engineering challenges more efficiently. This, in turn, accelerates the software development lifecycle and reduces time-to-market. It is designed to work with various AI language models, allowing users to choose the best solution.
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By combining powerful LLMs with advanced code search capabilities, AutoCodeRover excels across multiple dimensions of software issue remediation. It ranks among the top three in the SWE-Bench evaluations, the most comprehensive benchmark for testing AI coding agents’ software issue remediation capability. With an average modest cost of S$0.80 (US$0.60) and a short runtime of 6.5 minutes, versus 2.68 days by a typical human developer, for each issue, it is a highly cost-effective agent for practical deployment at scale.
Prof Roychoudhury, co-founder of AutoCodeRover, commented, “By automating routine tasks, AutoCodeRover enables developers to dedicate more time to innovation and creative problem-solving, accelerating the delivery of high-quality applications.”
“At Sonar, we are committed to helping developers build better and faster by embracing new technologies and tools, like agentic AI. The work done by Professor Roychoudhury and the whole AutoCodeRover team is fundamentally redefining what it means to be a software engineer,” said Mr Tariq Shaukat, CEO of Sonar. “With AutoCodeRover, we’ll enable millions of developers and enterprises to accelerate development, improve code reviews, lower development costs, and free up developer time so they can focus more on creating and building. We’re excited to bring this to life by expanding our operations in Singapore and continuing collaboration with NUS and the Trustworthy and Secure Software research group by Professor Roychoudhury.”
Fueling AI innovation and job opportunities
One of the key highlights of this acquisition is Sonar’s plan to establish an R&D team in Singapore, creating 15 R&D jobs between 2025 and 2026. The team will be led by Dr Ridwan Shariffdeen, CEO and co-founder of AutoCodeRover and former NUS PhD student in Prof Roychoudhury’s Trustworthy and Secure Software research group in NUS Computing.
“This partnership is a win for both NUS and the broader tech ecosystem in Singapore,” said Prof Roychoudhury, who will also serve as Sonar’s Senior Advisor, guiding AI-based software and security of AI-based code. “Not only are we creating R&D jobs locally, we are also transitioning NUS’ cutting-edge research in AI and Software Engineering for software developers. By collaborating with Sonar, we gain valuable feedback from their large global customer base, which enriches our research and ensures the relevance of our work to industry needs. This also allows us to truly dream and define the software landscape of tomorrow, right here, from NUS.”
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Integrating AutoCodeRover into Sonar’s ecosystem marks a transformative shift in software development, enabling developers to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. As the world embraces AI-driven solutions, NUS remains at the forefront of innovation, delivering cutting-edge technologies that transform industries and improve lives.
