Why Snowflake's former revenue chief is joining a little-known AI infrastructure startup

• Snowflake's former revenue chief is joining the AI infrastructure startup Spectro Cloud.
• Mike Gannon made headlines during his one-year tenure for an interview with a TikTok influencer.
• Spectro helps businesses put AI to work and says it's on track for $100 million in ARR this year.

After departing the cloud giant Snowflake in April for "personal reasons," former revenue chief Mike Gannon is joining AI infrastructure startup Spectro Cloud as its chief revenue officer.

The $1 billion startup Spectro Cloud creates software that helps companies securely set up and use AI, manage costs, and keep tabs on agents. Gannon will lead sales as the company targets larger global customers.

During his one-year tenure at Snowflake, Gannon made headlines for an interview with a TikTok influencer that prompted the company to file an SEC disclosure. It warned investors not to rely on revenue projections Gannon shared in the clip.

Gannon declined to elaborate on his departure from Snowflake, which his separation agreement described as "mutually negotiated."

Gannon told Business Insider his next move reminds him of prior roles at VMware and EMC, where he helped build businesses around emerging technology. He sees a similar opportunity in the rise of inference, or putting AI models to work.

Spectro Cloud last announced it raised more than $100 million in a Series D round in July, led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. The company says it's on track for $100 million in annual recurring revenue this year.

It has grown two- to threefold annually for the past three years, said CEO and cofounder Tenry Fu said, and AI now accounts for more than half of its business.

Spectro provides a central hub for AI running across different locations, such as a company's servers, in the cloud, or at remote sites. It also helps steer simpler tasks to cheaper models. Fu said it has cut token costs for some customers by up to 90% within a week.

In addition to Gannon, Fu said Spectro's "leadership upgrade" includes incoming chief marketing officer Peter Finter, who has led marketing at major enterprise technology companies, including Gigamon through its initial public offering.

Spectro is expanding with offices in London and Washington, DC, as well as partnerships in the Middle East. Customers include T-Mobile, Airbus, and the US Air Force, and the company also works with neoclouds, which rent AI compute to other companies.

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