Guickly raises USD $4.2m to track enterprise AI spend

JOSEPH GABRIEL LAGONSIN News Editor Guickly has launched with USD $4.2 million in seed funding led by Engineering Capital. The company aims to help enterprises monitor and attribute AI spending. Founded by former Google Applied AI lead Prashant Jalan, Guickly is entering a market where companies are trying to understand the cost and business return of growing AI use across their organisations. Its software is designed to give executives a view of where AI tools are being used, who is using them, and how much they cost. The round also included Converge VC, Neon Fund, and angel investors. Guickly is positioning itself as a measurement layer for enterprise AI spending, focused on tracking usage across approved and unapproved tools and linking that spending to return on investment. It argues that many organisations face a problem similar to earlier cloud adoption cycles, but with less visibility because AI costs can fluctuate based on usage. That can make budgeting more difficult for Chief Information Officers, IT directors, and other senior leaders, particularly when employees use AI tools outside formal procurement processes. Guickly said its software is intended to identify what it calls shadow AI use, set spending limits by employee and tool, and flag unused licences or expensive models. It also said the product integrates with existing enterprise environments and keeps sensitive data on premises rather than transmitting prompts, source code, or other confidential information to its own servers. That approach could appeal to regulated sectors including finance, automotive internet of things, and pharmaceuticals, where data-handling rules can complicate the use of external AI tools. The software is also aimed at organisations with large numbers of AI users, regardless of industry. Jalan said his experience at Google shaped the idea for the company. He previously worked on applied AI products including Google Maps speed-limit features and developed a profiler to improve TPU performance. "Today, organizations are already spending as much on AI as they do on cloud infrastructure, but unlike the cloud, they may have no idea where that money is going. When I was leading an Applied AI team at Google and making products for billions of people, I traced where every cycle and every byte was going. But I realized that even the largest tech companies didn't always know what AI was doing within their walls. So I resolved to fix that," said Prashant Jalan, Founder, Guickly. The company cited McKinsey research showing that only 39% of organisations can attribute any bottom-line impact to AI. The figure highlights a broader challenge for companies that have adopted AI tools quickly but still lack consistent methods to measure business value. Investor backing Investors said the appeal lay in both Jalan's background and the scale of the problem Guickly is trying to address. They are increasingly looking at tools focused on AI adoption, governance, and cost management, rather than only on the underlying models themselves. "I've been following Prashant's career trajectory for years and knew he has the education, experience, ambition, and most importantly, the commercial instinct to build an enduring company. Enterprise AI expenses are skyrocketing, and Prashant has built an easy way for enterprises to understand AI usage, financial expenditures, and access across the organization. The first step to enterprises seeing a return on their AI investment is AI accountability and that's what Guickly provides," said Ashmeet Sidana, Chief Engineer, Engineering Capital. Converge VC said the startup addresses a gap in the market for companies that need more oversight of AI tools across the business. "At Converge VC, we back both exceptional teams and solutions that address critical white-space opportunities. Guickly brings the best of both: Prashant's deep technical expertise from more than eight years in applied AI at Google, combined with an integrated enterprise AI layer that brings together visibility, control, and optimization. We believe this comprehensive approach is essential for enterprises looking to deploy and manage AI securely and effectively at scale," said Anshu Agarwal, General Partner, Converge VC. Neon Fund also pointed to early customer interest and design partnerships as signs that companies are looking for more structured oversight of AI use. "We've been following AI since the beginning and investing in AI solutions and infrastructure almost as long. We backed Prashant and his team because we believe that Guickly will become essential to any enterprise hoping to use AI effectively. Prashant's background has enabled him to understand AI usage and how to measure it in a way that few others can. And that knowledge shows in the solution he has built at Guickly. The early design partners and customers concur on the unique value that Guickly brings," said Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund. Growing scrutiny The launch comes as companies face closer scrutiny over the cost of AI subscriptions, application programming interface usage, and agent-based tools that can spread quickly across teams. While conventional software spending has often been based on fixed seat licences, AI services can produce variable bills tied to tokens, queries, or compute use. That shift has created a market for products that promise clearer accounting and stronger internal controls. Guickly said its product was built with input from Chief Information Officers and other senior executives who wanted faster answers on AI spending and usage patterns. "We believe time is sacred, and speed is respect. Leaders shouldn't have to chase people to find answers. Guickly brings the answers to them without them having to ask," said Jalan.