Google’s Gradient backs Cake, a managed open-source AI infrastructure platform

Google's Gradient backs Cake in AI infrastructure integration for enterprises.

: Cake, backed by Google's Gradient Ventures, is an AI infrastructure platform helping businesses integrate open-source components to streamline operations. Founded by Misha Herscu and Skyler Thomas, Cake has raised $13 million, including a $10 million seed round. It offers a managed platform, currently requiring on-premise deployment due to data privacy concerns.

Cake is an emerging open-source AI infrastructure platform supported by Google's Gradient Ventures. The company, founded by Misha Herscu and Skyler Thomas in 2022, focuses on aiding businesses to integrate over 100 components like Apache Kafka and Anthropic. This aims to reduce engineering overheads by standardizing and securitizing enterprise use of open-source tools.

The company addresses what Herscu describes as a 'big picture problem' by providing curated and managed components for small teams. Not intended as an off-the-shelf solution, Cake provides companies with sophisticated needs like document processing and secure image analysis with a framework to assemble complex technology stacks.

Cake has raised a total of $13 million and cites tech companies Altis Labs and Ping among its clients. With plans for additional funding in 2025, Cake positions itself as a bridge between research-based open-source tools and enterprise-ready products, aiming to emulate the success of pioneering companies like Red Hat in the AI domain.

AI infrastructureOpensourceGradient Ventures