AI cloud startup Runpod achieved a $120 million annual revenue run rate, marking a significant milestone for the four-year-old company. The platform, which specializes in AI app hosting, was founded by Zhen Lu and Pardeep Singh, who shared their journey with TechCrunch.

The company's growth trajectory included bootstrapping its way to over $1 million in revenue. Runpod subsequently secured a $20 million seed round after Radhika Malik, a partner at Dell Technologies Capital, discovered the startup through Reddit posts. Further bolstering its investor base, Hugging Face co-founder Julien Chaumond became an angel investor after using the product and contacting the team through the support chat.

Runpod's emergence reflects the increasing demand for specialized cloud infrastructure tailored to AI applications. The market for AI-optimized cloud services is expanding rapidly, driven by the growing complexity and computational intensity of AI models. Runpod's platform addresses this need by providing a streamlined environment for deploying and scaling AI applications.

The genesis of Runpod can be traced back to late 2021, when Lu and Singh, then corporate developers at Comcast, sought a new challenge after their Ethereum mining venture proved unprofitable and unengaging. Recognizing the potential of their hardware setups beyond cryptocurrency, they pivoted to AI app hosting.

Looking ahead, Runpod is positioned to capitalize on the continued growth of the AI market. The company's ability to attract both venture capital and strategic angel investors underscores its potential to become a major player in the AI cloud infrastructure landscape. As AI models become more sophisticated and widely adopted, platforms like Runpod will play a crucial role in enabling developers and organizations to harness the power of artificial intelligence.