April 2026 Summaries

Blacksmith, a company fostering fast infrastructure for software development, offers high-performance CI/CD services that enhance GitHub Actions by using bare metal infrastructure to ensure speed, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. After accruing $3.5 million in seed funding and securing a $10 million Series A led by Google Ventures within just four months, Blacksmith has attracted over 700 paying customers and achieved eight figures in annual recurring revenue, with clients including Ashby, Chroma, Clerk, and others. Faced with the challenge of implementing a complex, usage-based billing system to support its technically sophisticated services, Blacksmith partnered with Lago, an API-first and open-source billing solution, which allowed seamless integration without disrupting their growth trajectory. Since adopting Lago in January 2025, Blacksmith has established a scalable billing foundation that enables them to focus on enhancing CI performance, supporting their growth, and maintaining a developer-friendly approach to pricing while ensuring precise metering for their expanding customer base in the AI and developer tools sector.