FinOps Foundation Launches First-Ever AI-Specific Cloud Cost Certification

SAN DIEGO — June 3, 2025
At the annual FinOps X conference, the FinOps Foundation — a project of the Linux Foundation — announced the launch of FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI, the industry’s first training and certification program tailored specifically for managing artificial intelligence (AI) cloud spend.

As AI continues to revolutionize industries, organizations face growing challenges managing its complex and often unpredictable costs. This new certification series provides a clear roadmap for FinOps professionals to address those challenges head-on.

Why FinOps for AI?

“FinOps teams are being asked to manage accelerating AI spend to allocate its cost, forecast its growth and ultimately show its value back to the business,”
— J.R. Storment, Executive Director, FinOps Foundation

The complexity and rapid evolution of AI technologies make it difficult for organizations to track, allocate, and optimize costs. Unmanaged, these costs can spiral, stalling innovation and cloud maturity.

FinOps for AI is designed to equip practitioners with the strategies and skills needed to bring clarity, accountability, and value alignment to AI investments.

What the Certification Covers

The FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI program consists of a four-part structured learning path. Each level is designed to meet FinOps professionals where they are, and to scale with them as they deepen their expertise:

• Introduction to FinOps for AI – Available Now
  A foundational course covering core principles and challenges of AI cost management.

• FinOps for AI: Level 1 – Launching September 2025
  Covers cost allocation models, tagging strategies, and usage attribution for AI workloads.

• FinOps for AI: Level 2 – Launching November 2025
  Delves into optimization, chargeback models, forecasting, and budget governance.

• FinOps for AI: Level 3 – Launching January 2026
  Explores advanced topics such as unit economics, sustainability, and scaling FinOps across AI teams.

Upon completion of all levels, participants can take the FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI exam starting March 2026, just ahead of FinOps X 2026.

A Global Standard for AI FinOps

With its existing certifications already recognized in over 100 countries, the FinOps Foundation continues to set the standard for cloud financial management. The FinOps for AI track extends that impact into the most innovation-heavy areas of cloud: artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI platforms.

Certification holders will gain the ability to:

• Allocate and optimize costs for GPU-heavy workloads
• Design chargeback and showback models for AI services
• Forecast AI spend with confidence
• Align AI cost strategies with business goals

The Road Ahead for FinOps Practitioners

FinOps professionals now have a clear path to staying ahead of AI-driven cloud evolution. Whether you’re supporting research teams training large models or managing AI-powered SaaS tools, this certification will ensure you understand how to keep costs aligned with value.

“This new certification provides a structured path to help cloud and FinOps teams gain confidence managing the unique cost dynamics of AI services.”
— J.R. Storment

Get Started

To explore the certification path and begin your journey:

👉 Visit the FinOps for AI program at FinOps.org

FinOps for AI helps practitioners manage their accelerating AI spend — and make AI innovation sustainable, measurable, and cost-effective.