TensorZero

TensorZero provides a unified open-source stack for developing, managing, and optimizing industrial-grade Large Language Model (LLM) applications. Founded in 2024 by CEO Gabriel Bianconi and CTO Viraj Mehta, the New York-based company aims to create a feedback loop that turns production data into more efficient, intelligent, and cost-effective models. Bianconi was previously the chief product officer at Ondo Finance, while Mehta completed his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University with a focus on reinforcement learning for LLMs and nuclear fusion. Their combined expertise informs the company's core concept: treating LLM application development as a reinforcement learning problem where real-world feedback drives continuous improvement.

The company's platform is designed to address the fragmented toolsets that enterprises often rely on for AI development. TensorZero unifies several key components into a single, self-hosted stack, including a high-performance LLM gateway, observability tools, optimization features, and experimentation capabilities like A/B testing. The gateway, written in Rust for low latency, offers a single API to access all major LLM providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Azure. This allows developers to monitor, debug, and optimize complex LLM workflows, from individual API calls to end-to-end systems. Data and feedback are collected and stored in a ClickHouse database, enabling scalable analytics and model improvements.

TensorZero operates on a fully open-source model (Apache 2.0 License) and all its tools are free, with no paid features. This strategy is intended to build trust with enterprises that require control over sensitive data. The company has secured $7.3 million in seed funding from investors including FirstMark, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Bedrock. While currently focused on enhancing its open-source offerings, TensorZero plans to launch a complementary managed service in the future to further streamline LLM engineering for enterprise clients.

Keywords: LLMOps, open-source, LLM gateway, MLOps, AI infrastructure, model optimization, model observability, reinforcement learning, LLM evaluation, A/B testing, AI developer tools, production AI, model deployment, API gateway, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, data flywheel, self-hosted AI, enterprise AI, Rust, ClickHouse, LLM applications, model management