[gpjt]

Sorry to see these guys go, they were a great company to have in the Python space (though they did branch out to other languages, I think).

When we started PythonAnywhere they were right up there on the list of potential competitors, though as it turned out our early adopters steered us more in the direction of hosting and lightweight computation (ping an API periodically and do stuff with the results) rather than heavy-duty computing.

The big problem with VC backing is that they really want $1bn exits. For them, Heroku's $200MM exit to Salesforce was almost a failure. I guess they couldn't see PiCloud going that way, so they chose not to invest again. Better to put the cash into a more likely-looking moonshot.

IMO this is a pity, because there are a bunch of smaller-than-$1bn but still solid companies that are getting starved of funding. The business-to-developer space is particularly prone to that kind of issue; it's less of a winner-takes-all market, so the big wins that VCs want are rarer than they are in other markets.