# Espresso AI

> Espresso AI is a New York-based startup that uses large language models and machine learning to automatically cut cloud data-warehouse bills. Founded in 2023 by three former Googlers, it markets a 'neural optimizer' - a set of AI agents that autoscale, schedule and rewrite SQL on platforms like Snowflake and Databricks, promising up to ~70% cost savings without changing query results. The company emerged from stealth in May 2024 with $11M in seed funding from Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross and FirstMark.

- **Founded:** 2023
- **Headquarters:** New York (Brooklyn), New York, United States
- **Founders:** Ben Lerner (CEO & Co-Founder), Alex Kouzemtchenko (Co-Founder), Juri Ganitkevitch (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** ~16-19 employees
- **Products:** Autoscaling Agent, Scheduling Agent ('Kubernetes for Snowflake'), Query Agent, Observability & savings estimator
- **Notable:** Emerged from stealth in May 2024 with $11M in seed funding., Backed by high-profile investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, plus FirstMark., Claims cloud data-warehouse cost reductions of up to ~70-80%.

## Products & services

- **Autoscaling Agent** — Analyzes each Snowflake workload independently and frames scaling as a constrained optimization problem, learning from metadata logs to make real-time scaling decisions that cut cost without raising latency. Reported 25%+ utilization gains.
- **Scheduling Agent ('Kubernetes for Snowflake')** — Dynamically routes queries across existing warehouses in real time using LLM-powered logic to maximize utilization, reportedly dropping idle time below 10%.
- **Query Agent** — Uses LLMs to automatically rewrite SQL for efficiency - like an expert data engineer reviewing every query - with formal verification to guarantee rewrites are mathematically equivalent to the originals.
- **Observability & savings estimator** — Free tooling to give teams visibility into Snowflake spend and estimate potential savings before committing.

## Achievements

- Emerged from stealth in May 2024 with $11M in seed funding.
- Backed by high-profile investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, plus FirstMark.
- Claims cloud data-warehouse cost reductions of up to ~70-80%.
- Built 'Kubernetes for Snowflake' scheduling that reportedly cuts idle time below 10%.
- Introduced formally verified LLM-based SQL rewriting.
- Expanded from Snowflake to Databricks with an agentic lakehouse product.

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — Emerged from stealth with $11M seed funding to tackle the cloud cost crisis.
- **2025-08** — Launched 'Kubernetes for Snowflake' scheduling to renovate data warehouses and improve utilization.
- **2025** — Announced an agentic lakehouse for Databricks, extending cost optimization beyond Snowflake.

## Links

- Website: https://espresso.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/espresso-ai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/espresso-ai
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-06