First Round is a seed-stage venture firm focused on building a vibrant community of technology entrepreneurs and companies, including Uber, Square, and Warby Parker. Through custom-built software, incredible in-person experiences, and a host of other unique services, First Round helps tiny companies get big while constantly reimagining the role of venture capital. It offers a growing number of services and products to help founders build companies from scratch. First Round has adopted the Diversity Term Sheet Rider.

First Round Capital

Afore Capital backs product-centric founders at the pre-seed stage exclusively. The investment team brings 16 years of founding product experience (Android and Twitter) and 7 years of institutional investing experience (Founder Collective and Foundation Capital). Their sweet spot is the ~$1M pre-seed round, where they can lead the round as an institutional investor alongside high value angels.

Afore Capital

Coatue is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in the public equity markets globally focusing on investments in technology, media, and telecommunications in addition to other sectors. It employs a long or short strategy to make its investments.

Coatue

OldSlip is a New York-based growth equity firm focused on investing and operating privately held companies

Oldslip

Kubecost

Kubecost is a developer of a cost monitoring platform to help companies manage their Kubernetes resources and costs. Its platform also provides direct integrations with the Kubernetes API and cloud billing APIs, cost allocations for all key Kubernetes concepts, dynamic recommendations for optimizing cloud spend, and infrastructure assessment services helping clients to reduce spending and prevent resource-based outages.

Kubecost is an open-source tool providing cost monitoring and optimization solutions for enterprises running Kubernetes.

Platforms to make the most of cloud infrastructure

Cloud Optimization Tools

IBM acquires Kubecost, the cost optimisation startup with Indian-origin co-founder - Times of India

To strengthen IBM's FinOps portfolio, the company has acquired Kubecost, a startup specializing in Kubernetes cost management. This acquisition aligns with IBM's strategy to offer comprehensive IT solutions to enterprises.

Building future-ready applications in the cloud

Cloud-native Tech

Vendors that bundle different tools from different layers together into a platform, solving a larger problem. These can include an orchestration tool, a container runtime, service discovery, networking, an API gateway, etc.

Kubecost is an open-source tool providing cost monitoring and optimization solutions for enterprises running Kubernetes.Kubecost provides real-time visibility and insights into Kubernetes environments facilitating accurate expense tracking and allocation. The platform provides support for major cloud providers and a unified view that combines in-cluster and out-of-cluster costs to help users optimize cloud spend, performance, and provisioning. Further, teams can set up automated alerts and recurring cost reports for measuring budget overruns, spend pattern anomalies, and underperforming Kubernetes tenants.Kubecost operates a consumption-based sales model, where the cost is based on node usage.In September 2024, Kubecost was&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33666">acquired by IBM</a> for an undisclosed amount. Following this acquisition, Kubecost will be integrated into IBM’s FinOps Suite.Key customers and partnershipsKubecost has customers across multiple industries. Some notable clients are Adobe, Audi, Allianz, Broadcom, Coinbase, Snowflake, and Under Armour.Kubecost’s technology alliance partners include AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure.

Harness is a cloud-based end-to-end software delivery platform that provides cloud cost management (CCM), among other modules.Harness CCM offers a holistic set of features to facilitate cost optimization of the development pipeline. It provides a single customizable dashboard to unify data and insights across multiple departments and cloud vendors. Further, it delivers automated anomaly detection and resource allocation to optimize continuous delivery (CD) workflows and allows for seamless integration with existing monitoring tools for an overview of cloud spend.In <a href="http://v">January 2024</a>, Harness acquired Armory, a continuous delivery platform company, for USD 7 million, with plans to integrate some of Armory’s technology into its products. Furthermore, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29964">May 2024</a>, it acquired Split Software, a company specializing in feature management and experimentation, for an undisclosed sum. Harness aimed to integrate Split's feature management and experimentation capabilities into its software delivery platform to offer a comprehensively integrated solution that allows software teams to build, deploy, test, and refine software features efficiently and effectively.Harness operates a consumption-based sales model with pricing based on the annual cloud spend.Key customers and partnershipsHarness CCM’s clientele ranges from individuals to large-scale enterprises across various industries, including healthcare, IT, finance, service, and SaaS. Notable customers include Synopsys, Relativity, Discover Dollar, and Carvana.Harness collaborates with many industry leaders to ensure wide service provision and integrations with various tools and platforms. Some of its key technology partners are HashiCorp, Benchmark, and Insight.

Harness

Cloudchipr is a company specializing in cloud cost optimization and automation solutions.CloudChippr helps businesses reduce cloud expenses by identifying inefficiencies and recommending cost-saving measures. It provides real-time insights into cloud usage, automates cost allocation, and offers actionable recommendations for optimizing resources. Additionally, CloudChippr simplifies cloud management by integrating with popular cloud platforms, enabling organizations to maximize their cloud investments and minimize waste while ensuring optimal performance across cloud environments.Cloudchipr adopts a subscription-based approach.Key customers and partnershipsCloudchipr’s customer base includes DISQO, ServiceTitan, Activeloop, AimHub, Podcastle, and SuperAnnotate.Cloudchipr Cloud provides native integrations with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Cloudchipr

Vega Cloud is a technology company offering a cloud cost optimization and management platform.The Vega Cloud Platform provides visibility and organization of cloud infrastructure with a unified view across major cloud providers. Vega Cloud platform provides near real-time data to influence spending and make intelligent trade-off decisions between cost, quality, and speed. The platform's proprietary unit economics and outcomes-oriented approach to cloud infrastructure optimization uses data context and automation to help businesses make decisions efficiently.Vega Cloud employs a subscription-based pricing model.Key customers and partnershipsVega Cloud provides native integrations with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.The company’s clientele includes entertainment companies like CBS, Paramount, MTV, VH1 and others such as ITRON, Cal Poly, and ClearData.

Vega Cloud

StackZone offers a suite of technology solutions for optimizing and enhancing various aspects of AWS cloud operations.StackZone's range of products and features encompasses AWS management tools, infrastructure optimization solutions, security services, application performance management, cost optimization solutions, analytics and reporting, automation, and support/consulting services. These offerings cater to various IT aspects, including resource management, performance enhancement, cost reduction, security, and operational efficiency.StackZone employs a direct sales model.Key customers and partnershipsStackZone’s customer base includes enterprises in various industries. Among its customers are The Weir Group, Sigma Móvil, Vitaccess, Triario, and Keroppa.

StackZone

mist.io provides an open-source multi-cloud management platform aimed at optimizing costs and streamlining operations.mist.io’s unified dashboard and APIs provide real-time visibility into hybrid cloud environments to track, understand, and govern cloud spend and resource utilization. The platform also provides orchestration automation for repeatable deployments and the ability to create custom policies to control infrastructure access. Moreover, the platform eliminates the need for migration by allowing users to control legacy bare-metal servers from the same interface used for cloud infrastructure.The platform operates a pay-as-you-go and subscription-based sales model.Key customers and partnershipsmist.io is utilized globally in several industries. Some notable customers are SevOne, the European Parliament, the National Bank of Greece, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Windstream Enterprise.mist.io offers integrations with over 15 service providers and technologies. Some key technology integrators are AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and VMware.

Mist.io

Tools that improve performance per spend by offering visibility and insights as well as leveraging pricing models such as reserved and spot instances. These also provide financial guardrails to enforce budgetary limits and other cost-saving opportunity recommendations

Tools designed to streamline and simplify various tasks and processes related to cloud computing. These help organizations manage and optimize their cloud infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and reduce manual intervention

Tools that provide comprehensive features and functionalities to safeguard cloud resources and maintain adherence to industry-specific regulations for data protection and overall security

All companies in this hub provide optimization services for cloud-based platforms

Provides support for governance & regulatory compliance and transparency & insights regarding cloud spend

A few companies use AI/ML algorithms for workload optimization and deployment automation

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 IBM has bought Kubecost, a startup that specializes in monitoring and optimizing Kubernetes costs. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. 
 IBM intends to incorporate Kubecost into its <a href="https://www.ibm.com/finops"> FinOps Suite </a>. This suite also includes features from other acquisitions, such as <a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-08-10-IBM-Completes-Acquisition-of-Apptio-Inc"> Apptio </a>, <a href="https://www.apptio.com/company/news/press-releases/apptio-inc-completes-acquisition-of-cloudability/"> Cloudability </a>, and <a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-06-17-IBM-Closes-Acquisition-of-Turbonomic-to-Deliver-Comprehensive-AIOps-Capabilities-for-Hybrid-Cloud"> Turbonomic </a>.&nbsp;
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 This acquisition aligns with IBM’s strategy to strengthen its IT and FinOps capabilities, positioning the company to address the growing need for cost transparency and resource optimization in complex multi-cloud environments. With Kubecost, IBM will provide enterprises with more precise cost visibility for Kubernetes workloads, further strengthening its cloud management portfolio.

Kubecost

EDGE Insights

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless