From CoreWeave and Wiz to Cast AI and Prosimo, here are the 10 cloud startups of 2024 that you need to know about.

Startup companies are paving the cloud computing highway of the future, which is currently being fueled by global demand for artificial intelligence solutions.

"The use of AI technologies in IT and business operations is unabatedly accelerating the role of cloud computing in supporting business operations and outcomes," said Sid Nag, vice president analyst at IT research firm Gartner, in a statement. "Cloud use cases continue to expand with increasing focus on distributed, hybrid, cloud-native, and multi-cloud environments supported by a cross-cloud framework."

Nearly all of the 10 companies on CRN's list of top cloud computing startups of 2024 have a solid AI strategy and portfolio that is helping to drive cloud adoption, including cloud security superstar Wiz as well as cloud infrastructure and GPU star CoreWeave.

Some other cool cloud startups include multi-cloud networking startup Prosimo, cloud management specialist Pulumi, as well as Kubernetes specialists Cast AI and Spectro Cloud.

Gartner expects spending on public cloud services to reach a whopping $723 billion in 2025, up from $596 billion in 2024. This would represent a nearly 22 percent annual growth rate.

Enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services is also accelerating, according to market research firm Synergy Research.

Synergy said enterprise spending on cloud services climbed to $313 billion over the past 12 months from the fourth quarter 2023 to third quarter 2024. During the third quarter of 2024, enterprise spending on cloud services hit a record high of $84 billion, representing an increase of 23 percent year over year.

From Tackle.io and Operant AI to Upbound and Ori Global Cloud and Wiz, here are the 10 coolest startups paving the way for computing, AI solutions and next-level cloud innovation.