QA Sphere is an AI-powered test management system designed to streamline and simplify the software testing process for development teams. It serves as an all-in-one platform for managing both manual and automated testing workflows. Pulse 2.0 interviewed QA Sphere Creator Andrian Budantsov to gain a deeper understanding of the platform.
Andrian Budantsov’s Background
What is Andrian Budantsov’s background? Budantsov said:
“I’ve been building software for almost 25 years. I started building software as a teenager, helping local businesses with small projects while still in high school. Later, I studied computer science at university and got deeper into building shareware and early web tools. In 2007, I co-founded Readdle, where I served as CTO and helped shape the engineering culture behind apps like PDF Expert, Spark Mail, and Documents. These went on to win awards from Apple and power productivity for millions of people worldwide. I’ve also contributed to open-source projects and supported teams in building reliable release pipelines and scalable architecture. My core principle has always been simple: build software that people can count on, year after year. That mindset is at the core of Hypersequent today.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Budantsov shared:
“After spending fifteen years focused on building polished consumer apps, I kept running into the same frustration as a user: so much everyday software still fails at the basics because bugs slip through. That felt avoidable with better testing.”
“In early 2023, I stepped back and spent three months talking to over sixty QA leaders at startups and large enterprises. The pattern was clear: they were under constant pressure — never enough people, never enough time — but the tools weren’t helping either. Test-management platforms felt a decade behind: slow, rigid, and built for Fortune 500 budgets. What teams actually needed was speed, clarity, and fair pricing.”
“Those conversations shaped the foundation for Hypersequent and our first product, QA Sphere. We set out to build a modern test-management system that cuts busywork, shows clear results, and grows with teams without breaking their budgets.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Budantsov reflected:
“One of my favorite moments so far was closing a deal with a German hardware company. They’re extremely methodical and slow to make decisions, so earning their trust took time. After putting QA Sphere through a deep technical evaluation, they saw the value and signed on. I can’t name them yet, but winning them over was especially rewarding because it proved the product could stand up to rigorous, real-world testing. Test management tools shouldn’t just look good — they need to deliver under pressure. Hearing a skeptical, detail-driven team say “this actually makes our work easier” was a huge validation.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Budantsov explained:
“Right now, Hypersequent is focused on one product: QA Sphere. It’s a modern test-management system designed to bring order to how teams validate their software, combining both manual and automated testing.”
“QA Sphere acts as a single, version-controlled library where test cases can live, evolve, and stay linked to the code they protect. When release time comes around, teams can pull relevant cases into a test run, track outcomes in real time, and trace results back to the exact step or script. That means a product manager or engineer can check progress and coverage at any moment, without juggling spreadsheets or exporting data.”
“We treat automation and manual testing equally. Teams can push results from frameworks using a lightweight API or command-line tool, and those outcomes appear side by side with manual results on the same dashboards and reports. That way, leaders see one clear view of pass/fail status instead of separate silos. If something fails, QA Sphere helps attach logs, screenshots, and metadata for faster root-cause analysis.”
“Speed and clarity are core values. Pages stay responsive, even with large test libraries, and reports remain readable. We also use AI where it saves the most time: drafting tests from plain-language requirements, suggesting bug reports, or generating a starter test suite from a specification — with human review always in the loop.”
“Finally, QA Sphere uses a simple per-user pricing model, with no surprise fees for core features. The goal is to give teams a single environment where they can see manual and automated results together, track quality in one place, and spend more time improving software rather than fighting their test tools.
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Budantsov and the team face in building the company? Budantsov acknowledged:
“The biggest challenge has been earning trust in a mission-critical category. Test-management systems are central to release processes — if they go down, shipping stops. When QA Sphere was brand new, the first concern many QA leads had was whether we could handle large-scale test libraries and still be around next quarter.”
“We focused on proving reliability from day one. Each release goes through heavy load testing, well beyond 10,000 test cases, with automated failover and daily off-site backups. If a feature doesn’t pass those bars, it waits until it can. We ship updates on a predictable cadence — every two weeks, stretching to four if needed — and fully regression-test before rollout. Customers can see every change through our public changelog, so progress is transparent.”
“We also back that up with responsive, direct support. When someone contacts us, they hear from the engineers who built the product — not a call-center script. That personal accountability helped shift the conversation from ‘can you handle our scale?’ to ‘when can we move our testing over?’ That shift has been our strongest signal of success so far.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since its launch? Budantsov noted:
“We’ve evolved QA Sphere along two tracks I call red and blue. The red track is focused on the core test-management capabilities that teams expect today. We launched lean, then steadily added features customers needed, with prioritization based on real feedback rather than a giant speculative roadmap.”
“The blue track is about innovation. There, we’re exploring how AI can help where repetitive work slows teams down. We started with AI-assisted test-case drafting, then moved to bulk test generation, and an AI tool that can summarize raw test results into structured, ready-to-file bug reports. Next, we’re working on AI features to help keep living documentation accurate over time without compromising quality.”
“Across both tracks, performance stays front and center. We’ve optimized even the smallest details — for example, tackling rendering hiccups on Apple’s 120 Hz displays — and on the backend, we make sure even the most complex cross-project queries stay fast. In test management, if your tool makes you wait, people stop using it. We never lose sight of that.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Budantsov cited:
“One of our biggest milestones was launching QA Sphere in March 2024 and securing our first customers soon after. Each new customer has helped us validate and refine the product, shaping the roadmap through real-world feedback.”
“Another important moment was hosting our first internal strategy summit — Hypersummit — in March 2025, which helped align our remote team around future priorities. Finally, rolling out our AI-powered features has been a key achievement. These continue to evolve as we learn more from how teams actually work with them day to day.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Budantsov about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“One that really stands out is Yalantis, a global software engineering and IT consulting firm. They recently migrated over 100,000 test cases into QA Sphere in just a few weeks. Our onboarding team supported them throughout the process, and the product was straightforward enough that their team got up to speed quickly.”
“Since making the switch, Yalantis has seen a significant improvement in ROI — driven by a combination of lower platform costs and better team efficiency. They’ve estimated a 10-12% boost in test coverage velocity, thanks to a faster product, a cleaner user experience, and AI-powered features like test case creation and bug reporting.”
“Another success story is ScanTrust, a Swiss-based provider of secure QR codes and product authentication solutions. Dr. Iryna Strubytska, the QA leader at ScanTrust, and her team consolidated their test library into QA Sphere and brought more structure to their day-to-day QA workflows. In the process, they shared valuable feature ideas focused on reducing repetitive tasks — some of which are now live and already saving teams hours of manual effort. It’s been a great example of how close collaboration with sharp QA leaders can shape the product in meaningful ways.”
Funding
When asking Budantsov about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“We’re founder-funded and intentionally running lean during our early rollout. Right now we offer a generous free tier and trial programs so smaller teams can experience QA Sphere fully before committing. That’s a deliberate choice to build trust and collect meaningful feedback. Adoption is growing steadily, and we’re confident in our ability to scale as we continue refining the product with early users.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) is the company pursuing? Budantsov assessed:
“We’re focused on the test-management segment of the broader QA market, which is currently valued around $1–2 billion annually and projected to grow to about $5 billion by the early 2030s. That growth is driven by faster release cycles, automation becoming standard, and the need for clearer test reporting.”
“I’d also add that these market estimates often understate the impact of agent-driven or AI-assisted development. As more teams shift to AI-generated code, they’ll need even more advanced, intelligent testing systems to keep up — which could accelerate demand well beyond current forecasts.”
“Beyond test management, the entire software quality ecosystem — including frameworks, services, and crowd-testing — is already over $50 billion globally, with estimates pushing it toward $80 billion before the decade ends.”
“Our strategy is to start with test management as a solid, multi-billion-dollar opportunity, while keeping the door open to expand into adjacent areas over time. There’s plenty of headroom for growth.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Budantsov affirmed:
“Most test-management systems on the market today feel dated or overly complex. With QA Sphere, we focused on making the experience simple, modern, and genuinely usable day to day. Another key differentiator is that we’ve built practical AI features directly into the workflow — things like smart test-case generation and AI-powered bug report suggestions — without taking humans out of the loop.”
“Finally, our size is an advantage. We’re a lean team, able to move quickly, listen closely to early users, and adapt much faster than larger incumbents. That combination — thoughtful design, useful AI, and a highly responsive team — is what makes QA Sphere stand out.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Budantsov emphasized:
“Our main goal is to make QA Sphere the most intuitive, efficient, and reliable test-management platform available. We plan to keep expanding our AI capabilities to help teams save time and reduce repetitive work, while always keeping humans in control.”
“Beyond product features, we’re focused on growing our customer base in a sustainable way — partnering closely with early adopters to make sure we deliver real value. Internally, we want to keep evolving how we work as a fully remote, async-first team, so we stay fast and adaptable as we grow. In the long run, we aim for QA Sphere to be the first choice for any team that takes software quality seriously.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you’d like to discuss? Budantsov concluded:
“I’d just add that if any Pulse 2.0 readers are exploring ways to improve their testing workflows, I’d be glad to connect and exchange ideas. We’re always interested in hearing from teams who care about quality and want to build more reliable software. Anyone interested in connecting with us can email sorted@qasphere.com.”
