Duckbill, a consulting firm co-founded by Corey Quinn and CEO Mike Julian, has announced a significant shift towards software development with the introduction of its new platform, Skyway. This pivot aims to address the unpredictability in cloud spending for large enterprises. The company has secured $7.75 million in funding from investors including Heavybit, Uncork Capital, and Encoded Ventures to enhance product development and expand its workforce from ten employees.
With an average client expenditure of $70 million annually on cloud infrastructure, Duckbill's clientele includes notable companies like Airtable, Ticketmaster, and New Relic. Julian pointed out that current cloud cost management tools are primarily designed for startups, often leaving larger enterprises dissatisfied and compelled to create their own solutions.
Quinn emphasized that the real issue in cloud management lies not in reducing expenses but in the inability to forecast costs accurately. He noted that financial concerns arise when bills fluctuate unexpectedly, rather than their absolute size. Duckbill's extensive experience negotiating billions in cloud contracts provides it with valuable insights into the challenges faced by large-scale users.