Cloud Capital, a startup founded by repeat SaaS entrepreneurs, has launched out of stealth with $7.7 million in funding to help CFOs regain financial control of their cloud infrastructure. As AI accelerates cloud usage, Cloud Capital is launching the first FinTech platform built for cloud. It helps companies forecast usage, unlock savings, and eliminate the financial risk of long-term commitments.
Founded by Edward Barrow (CEO), Spencer Pingry (CTO), and Zack Liscio (CPO) – the team behind Idio, Zaius, and Naytev – the trio met at Optimizely, where they experienced the complexity of cloud cost management at scale. Together, they’ve overseen $500M+ in cloud costs and built Cloud Capital to fix it.
“We believe cloud infrastructure is the largest broken market in tech,” said Edward Barrow, Co-founder & CEO. “We’ve built the forecasts and lived the pain. We built Cloud Capital to give CFOs the same level of control over cloud that they have across the rest of the P&L.”
The AI Boom Is Driving a $344B Cloud Cost Crisis
Cloud is now the fastest-growing cost in tech. AI is pushing spend to a $344B run-rate by Q4 2024¹, up 20% year-over-year. By 2030, it’s expected to exceed $1 trillion.
Hyperscalers are scaling fast. In 2024, data center capex rose 51% to $455B²—mostly for AI-ready infrastructure. Their model relies on long-term contracts, shifting financial risk to buyers.
Cloud is now the second-largest expense after headcount: 6% – 12% of revenue in SaaS, and up to 30% – 40% in AI-native firms³. 27% of companies are over budget⁴, with up to 40% in savings left on the table². Yet cloud ownership often sits with engineering, leaving finance teams without visibility or control.
“Cloud has always been a massive cost center but, with AI workloads driving usage through the roof, it’s now the least controlled line item on the P&L,” said Zack Liscio, Co-founder & CPO. “CFOs are asked to approve major investments without insight. We built Cloud Capital to give them control.”
“Cloud Capital is shifting the dynamic,” said Spencer Pingry, Co-founder & CTO. “Unlike traditional tools we take a ‘100% FinTech’ approach, treating cloud like a financial asset and quantifying commitment risk. Other tools help engineers save. We help CFOs manage risk.”
Rapid Fundraising and Early Traction
Cloud Capital raised a $2.3M pre-seed round led by Connect Ventures, with top FinTech angels. Three months later, it closed a $5.4M seed led by Backed Ventures and Middlegame Ventures.
“Cloud Capital is tackling one of the most urgent and overlooked problems in tech: the lack of financial control in cloud infrastructure,” said Rory Stirling, Partner at Connect Ventures. “They’ve lived the problem and are building with the clarity that only comes from first-hand experience. They’re not just optimizing costs, they’re reshaping the financial infrastructure of the cloud era.”
Now live, Cloud Capital works with dozens of AI, FinTech, and Cybersecurity startups across North America and Europe – helping CFOs forecast usage, unlock savings, and manage risk without rigid contracts.
