Cloud Capital has emerged from stealth with a mission to fix what many finance leaders now call their biggest blind spot—cloud spending. With $7.7 million in funding, the startup wants to help CFOs forecast, manage, and reduce the rising costs tied to cloud infrastructure.
As AI adoption accelerates, cloud usage is growing faster than most finance teams can handle. Costs are climbing, multi-year contracts are locking companies in, and there’s little visibility into what’s driving the spend. That’s where Cloud Capital steps in—giving CFOs the control they’ve been missing.
The company was founded by Edward Barrow, Spencer Pingry, and Zack Liscio—three SaaS veterans who’ve collectively managed more than $500 million in cloud spend. After building and scaling platforms like Idio, Zaius, Naytev, and Optimizely, they saw a pattern: engineers were tasked with saving money, but the financial risk always landed on CFOs.
Barrow believes cloud infrastructure is the most broken cost center in modern tech. He says Cloud Capital exists to bring cloud under the same financial discipline as payroll or vendor contracts. Instead of flying blind, CFOs get tools to forecast usage, model risk, and uncover savings in real time.
Turning Cloud Spend Into a Strategic Advantage
Cloud infrastructure has quietly become the second-biggest cost after salaries at many tech firms. For AI-heavy startups, it can swallow up to 40% of revenue. Global cloud spend hit $344 billion in late 2024, and experts believe it could top $1 trillion by 2030.
But the cost isn’t just about usage. Large cloud providers often demand long-term commitments. These deals pass the financial risk to CFOs—who are often approving contracts without clear visibility.
According to Cloud Capital, nearly 27% of companies exceed their cloud budgets. Worse, up to 40% in savings go unclaimed because finance teams lack tools to analyze usage or plan ahead confidently.
That’s where Cloud Capital’s AI-driven platform makes a difference. It analyzes real-time cloud activity, product roadmaps, and financial data to give teams clarity. CFOs can run simulations, test different budget scenarios, and even offload contract risk—because Cloud Capital offers to underwrite long-term deals.
Unlike tools aimed at engineers, this platform was built for finance leaders. CTO Spencer Pingry says their goal isn’t just optimization. It’s to transform cloud into a manageable, predictable asset—just like any other capital investment.
Backed by Top VCs, Trusted by High-Growth Startups
The company first raised $2.3 million in a quiet pre-seed round led by Connect Ventures. After gaining early traction, Cloud Capital closed a $5.4 million seed round led by Backed Ventures and Middlegame Ventures. Other participants included DFF Ventures and several FinTech angels.
Investors are backing a team that understands the problem deeply—and is building a solution with clarity and focus. Rory Stirling of Connect Ventures says the platform isn’t just about savings—it’s about reshaping the entire financial layer of the cloud economy.
Today, Cloud Capital is already live with dozens of startups across AI, cybersecurity, and FinTech. These teams are using it to make smarter, faster cloud decisions—without getting trapped in inflexible contracts.
As cloud costs continue to spiral and CFOs face pressure to deliver tighter forecasts, Cloud Capital could be the finance-first solution they’ve been waiting for.
