Twin sisters Nilo Rahmani and Jen Rahmani, both experienced engineers, have taken their frustrations with traditional reliability platforms to the next level by launching Thoras, a Washington, D.C.-based startup that leverages AI to help companies optimize cloud reliability while reducing costs.

The idea for Thoras was born out of the sisters' frequent conversations about the pain points they faced in their respective engineering jobs. They noticed a shift in the reliability landscape, with companies increasingly prioritizing cost savings alongside reliability. "Before, it was reliability first at all costs," Nilo explained to TechCrunch. "Now, companies are paying more attention to the costs of cloud. The whole industry is being crippled by these costs, and the challenge grows exponentially as the business grows."

Thoras' solution uses AI to quickly identify and resolve software disruptions, helping enterprises discover optimization opportunities within reliability to save on cloud costs. According to the company, its platform can help companies find and solve issues 70% faster than other methods, while saving up to 60% on cloud costs.

The startup's approach to AI sets it apart from competitors in the cloud observability space, which includes established players like New Relic, Splunk, and Dynatrace. Thoras' software relies on smaller, more targeted machine learning models with clearer ROI, rather than large language models that can be inaccurate and lead to resource overconsumption.

Thoras came out of stealth in January 2024 and raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round in March 2024. The company has since seen its revenue grow 360% in just nine months, prompting the need for additional funding to keep up with customer demand. The new $5 million seed round, led by Wellington Ventures and participated in by Sinewave Ventures, Focal Ventures, and Storytime Capital, among others, will be used to hire engineers, expand the product, and meet growing customer demand.

Nilo, CEO, described the fundraising process as "smooth sailing" compared to the pre-seed round, citing the company's traction and metrics as key factors in securing the investment. The sisters' unique dynamic as twins has also proven beneficial, with Jen, COO, describing them as a "power duo" that leverages their connection to better solve problems.

Thoras has initially focused on Kubernetes environments, but plans to expand its product to support other types of cloud software in the future. As the company continues to grow, it's clear that its AI-powered solution is poised to make a significant impact in the cloud observability space.

The Rahmani sisters' entrepreneurial journey is also a testament to the power of perseverance and family support. Their immigrant parents, initially surprised by their decision to leave secure full-time jobs, are now thrilled to see the success of Thoras.