Unlock Growth: How Suger Empowers Companies to List and Scale on Cloud Marketplaces

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud marketplaces, SaaS companies are finding innovative ways to streamline their sales processes. When major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS introduced their software marketplaces over a decade ago, they transformed the way software-as-a-service firms connect with enterprise customers. This shift has significantly reduced the traditional, lengthy sales cycles that many companies faced.

The Challenges of Selling on Cloud Marketplaces

While the benefits of cloud marketplaces are undeniable, the seller-side experience often presents its own set of challenges. Getting software listed on these platforms typically requires substantial engineering resources, with the complexity increasing as a company grows.

Introducing Suger: A Solution for SaaS Companies

Recognizing these challenges, Jon Yoo and Chengjun Yuan, seasoned professionals from Salesforce and Confluent, founded Suger. Their goal is to simplify the operational hurdles associated with selling through cloud marketplaces.

Suger offers a comprehensive toolkit designed to automate the listing of SaaS products across multiple marketplaces. The platform’s unified APIs seamlessly integrate with existing tools like billing and customer relationship management systems.

Key Features of Suger

• Flexible Pricing: Manage and adjust pricing structures with ease.
• Revenue Reports: Gain insights into sales performance.
• Buyer Insights: Understand customer behavior and preferences.

According to Yoo, “We built a workflow so that we can orchestrate all these actions that these people do as a day-to-day job. Our automation helps clients transact at scale, and we see that our customers, on average, triple their marketplace volume after switching to us.”

Recent Growth and Funding

Launched at the end of 2022, Suger has quickly amassed a customer base of over 200 companies, including notable names like Snowflake, Notion, and Intel. Recently, the company secured a $15 million Series A funding round led by Threshold Ventures, with contributions from Craft Ventures, Intel Capital, and Y Combinator.

Yoo noted that interest in Suger was high, with multiple term sheets being offered swiftly, especially as many investors recognized the challenges faced by their portfolio companies in navigating cloud marketplaces.

AI Integration and Market Position

While some investors suggested that Suger needed to position itself as an “AI company” to attract funding, Yoo emphasized that AI is merely a tool. “At the end of the day, our clients want solutions that enhance their workflow, not just marketing buzzwords,” he stated.

The Future of Cloud Marketplaces

The role of cloud marketplaces in enterprise sales continues to expand. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff highlighted that in Q2 of fiscal 2025, three of Salesforce’s largest deals were closed via AWS’ cloud marketplace. This trend indicates that many new AI startups are also eyeing cloud marketplaces as a primary sales channel.

Yoo remarked, “It’s a massive market. It’s becoming essential for companies selling to enterprises.” However, competition is intensifying, with some firms developing in-house listing systems, while others opt for solutions from startups like Tackle, which has raised over $148 million in funding.

Looking Ahead

Yoo believes Suger has a strategic advantage as a second mover in the market, differentiating itself by focusing on broader functionalities beyond just the listing process. With the recent funding, Suger intends to enhance its product offerings and expand its engineering capabilities. The company’s vision extends to developing tools that assist enterprises in software procurement and expenditure management.

“We are excited not just for Suger’s future but for the evolution of cloud marketplaces,” Yoo concluded. “We aim to bring a consumer-like experience to B2B sales, as the lengthy enterprise sales cycle is no longer justifiable.”