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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Kubecost is a technology company.
Kubecost delivers a platform for real-time cost monitoring and optimization tailored for Kubernetes environments. Its core product provides engineering and finance teams granular visibility into cloud spend, enabling efficient allocation, budgeting, and reduction of infrastructure expenditures. The solution integrates to track resource consumption across containerized workloads.
Co-founded in 2019 by CEO Webb Brown and CTO Ajay Tripathy, Kubecost stemmed from the recognized challenge of managing costs within complex Kubernetes infrastructures. Their insight led to developing a specialized tool, addressing a critical market need for financial transparency and control in the cloud-native ecosystem.
Kubecost's platform serves development, operations, and finance teams seeking clarity and control over their Kubernetes deployments. The company’s vision aims to empower organizations to achieve economic efficiency and predictable spending across cloud-native operations. It provides essential tools for businesses to confidently scale infrastructure with comprehensive cost awareness.
Kubecost has raised $30.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Kubecost has raised $30.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Kubecost has raised $30.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $25.0M Series A in February 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2022 | $25M Series A | David Cahn | 50 Partners, Afore Capital, AirAngels, ALT Capital, Boldstart Ventures, Aniq Kassam, Footprint Coalition, Footwork, Insight Partners, Lead Edge Capital, Mucker Capital, Picus Capital, Seaside Ventures, Sequoia Capital, TechSquare Labs, Tectonic Capital, Y Combinator, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Justin Mateen, LIU Jiang, Nigel Wray, RON Pragides, Scott Belsky, Sean RAD, Andrew LEE, BEN Porterfield, Chris Aniszczyk, Michael Scarpelli, First Round Capital, Cack Wilhelm | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2021 | $4M Seed | — | Afore Capital, Aniq Kassam | Announced |
| Jul 1, 2019 | $1M Seed | — | Afore Capital, Aniq Kassam | Announced |
Kubecost is a technology company that builds cost monitoring and optimization tools for Kubernetes environments, helping organizations gain visibility into cloud spending and reduce waste.[1][2][3][4] Its core products include open-source solutions like OpenCost and enterprise offerings such as Kubecost Cloud, a SaaS platform providing real-time insights, rightsizing recommendations, and cost-saving alerts across multi-cloud setups (AWS, Azure, GCP).[2][5][7] Kubecost serves engineering teams at startups and enterprises—including Adobe, GitLab, Johnson & Johnson, and Under Armour—solving the problem of opaque Kubernetes costs, which often lead to 30-50% overspend.[3][4][6] With over 10 million installs, 115,000+ clusters managed, and $4 billion+ in assets under monitoring as of recent milestones, Kubecost achieved rapid growth before its acquisition by IBM in 2024, solidifying its role as the leading Kubernetes cost management tool per CNCF surveys.[3][5]
Kubecost was founded in 2019 in San Francisco by ex-Googlers, including co-founder and CEO Webb Brown, as Stackwatch Inc., starting as an open-source project to democratize Kubernetes cost visibility for small engineering teams.[1][4][5][6][7] The idea emerged amid Kubernetes' rise a decade prior, which revolutionized app deployment but introduced complex cloud cost challenges at scale; Brown noted Kubernetes offered "incredible opportunities" but cloud bills became a major hurdle.[3] Early traction built quickly: by 2022, it managed $2 billion in spending for 2,000+ customers, raised $30.5 million from investors like First Round Capital and Coatue, and launched OpenCost in 2022 as a CNCF sandbox project.[4][5] Pivotal moments included the 2023 general availability of Kubecost Cloud, which scaled to 1,000+ node clusters without heavy engineering lift, and surpassing 10 million installs by monitoring 115,000+ clusters.[2][3]
Kubecost stands out in Kubernetes cost management through these key strengths:
Kubecost rides the explosive growth of Kubernetes and cloud-native infrastructure, where dynamic scaling drives unpredictable costs amid multi-cloud adoption—exacerbated by FinOps needs as enterprises manage $2B+ in Kubernetes spend.[1][4][5] Its timing aligns perfectly with Kubernetes' maturation post-2014 launch, addressing waste in complex environments where traditional tools fall short, while GreenOps ties into sustainability mandates.[3] Market forces like rising cloud bills (often 30-50% wasteful) and CNCF ecosystem momentum favor it, influencing the space by open-sourcing OpenCost to standardize cost metrics and powering IBM's FinOps Suite post-2024 acquisition, potentially deepening OpenShift integration.[5][7] This elevates Kubernetes optimization from niche to enterprise standard, benefiting the ecosystem with better resource efficiency.
Post-IBM acquisition, Kubecost will expand beyond Kubernetes into end-to-end infrastructure cost management, leveraging IBM's Turbonomic and Cloudability for broader FinOps reach.[1][5] Trends like AI-driven workloads, edge computing, and stricter sustainability reporting will amplify demand for its real-time, multi-dimensional insights. Its influence may evolve by embedding deeper into hybrid clouds and OpenShift, accelerating adoption among enterprises while sustaining open-source leadership via OpenCost—ultimately optimizing the world's infrastructure as envisioned from its 2019 start.[5]
Kubecost has raised $30.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Kubecost's investors include David Cahn, 50 Partners, Afore Capital, AirAngels, Alt Capital, Boldstart Ventures, Aniq Kassam, Footprint Coalition, Footwork, Insight Partners, Lead Edge Capital, Mucker Capital.