Who founded Rainforest?

Rainforest was founded by Fred Stevens-Smith, Russell Smith in 2012.

Who are Rainforest's investors?

Rainforest's investors include Y Combinator, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Crosslink Capital, FundersClub, Heavybit, Initialized Capital, Storm Ventures and 12 more.

How much funding has Rainforest raised?

Rainforest has disclosed $29M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.

Where is Rainforest headquartered?

Rainforest is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

Rainforest

YC S12

San Francisco, US · Founded 2012 · 40 employees · 20 known investors

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Rainforest QA is an AI-powered, no-code testing platform that automates quality assurance for software development teams. It helps teams protect critical user flows, generate maintainable tests, and reduce manual QA work to ship software faster and with greater confidence.

Also known as cldrdr, Inc. · Rainforest QA, Inc.

AI & Machine Learning Developer Tools Enterprise Software SaaSUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaFully Remote

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S12)

Rainforest was founded in 2012 by Fred Stevens-Smith and Russell Smith.

Fred Stevens-Smith Co-founder & CEO

Russell Smith Co-founder · Board MemberRussell Smith is the founder and CTO of Rainforest, an AI-powered testing platform for software quality assurance.

J.J. ChaiFounder

JJ ChaiFounder

Jason Tan FounderFounder/CEO at Sift

Joshua SilverFounder

Per-Ola RöstFounder

Jonathan BarberSenior Engineering Manager

Lauren ChuManager of People Operations and Recruiting

Mike SondersHead of Marketing

Lauren HaroldSenior Director of Customer Experience

Sarah Arcoleo

Investors · 20

Y Combinator✓ confirmed by RainforestSan Francisco · $500K

How we know: the company's own site · the Y Combinator directory · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Bessemer Venture Partnerslisted by Bessemer Venture PartnersSan Francisco · $50K – $100M

How we know: Bessemer Venture Partners's portfolio page · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Bonfire Ventureslisted by Bonfire VenturesLos Angeles · $2M – $6M

How we know: Bonfire Ventures's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Crosslink Capitallisted by Crosslink CapitalMenlo Park · $1M – $9M

How we know: Crosslink Capital's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

FundersClublisted by FundersClubSan Francisco · $290K

How we know: FundersClub's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Heavybitlisted by HeavybitSan Francisco · $500K – $5M

How we know: Heavybit's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Initialized Capitallisted by Initialized CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $5M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · initialized.com · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Storm Ventureslisted by Storm VenturesPalo Alto

How we know: Storm Ventures's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Agrolimen Venturesreported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Alpana VenturesreportedGeneva

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Andreessen HorowitzreportedMenlo Park · $500K – $50M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Ardent VenturereportedWashington · $250K – $3M

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

BoxGroupreportedNew York · $250K – $1M

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Infinity VenturesreportedSan Francisco · $250K – $10M

How we know: fintech.global · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Initial CapitalreportedLondon

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Insignia Ventures PartnersreportedSingapore · $100K – $5M

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Monk's Hill VenturesreportedSingapore

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Morado VenturesreportedLos Altos · $150K

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Tippet Venture Partners (Gp), LlcreportedPalo Alto

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Venture OveragereportedMenlo Park

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

$29M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2024–2025

$29MSeries BSep 2025 · 3 sources
Infinity Ventures (lead)
Source ↗

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Founder mafia

The Rainforest mafia →

7 people who came through Rainforest went on to found or lead other companies.

Jim AndelmanBoard Member and InvestorFounded Bonfire Ventures Chris YinVP ProductFounded Plume Network Jason TanFounderFounded Sift Russell SmithCTOFounded 9 Mothers Sriya MaramCustomer Success Management InternFounded Persana AI Roman KhomenkoLead AI Data ScientistFounded 9 Mothers Hamza ZiaStaff EngineerFounded GitStart

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Companies working in the same space as Rainforest.

Legal entities · 2

corporate structure

cldrdr, Inc.

Rainforest QA, Inc.

Frequently asked questions

What does Rainforest do?: Rainforest QA is an AI-powered, no-code testing platform that automates quality assurance for software development teams. It helps teams protect critical user flows, generate maintainable tests, and reduce manual QA work to ship software faster and with greater confidence.
Who founded Rainforest?: Rainforest was founded by Fred Stevens-Smith, Russell Smith in 2012.
Who are Rainforest's investors?: Rainforest's investors include Y Combinator, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Crosslink Capital, FundersClub, Heavybit, Initialized Capital, Storm Ventures and 12 more.
How much funding has Rainforest raised?: Rainforest has disclosed $29M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.
Where is Rainforest headquartered?: Rainforest is headquartered in San Francisco, US.