Kubernetes, the open-source system that helps manage containerized applications (software packages that run in isolated environments), long ago breached the mainstream. According to one recent poll, 60% of organizations have adopted Kubernetes, and Gartner estimates that more than 90% of all enterprises could run Kubernetes in production by 2026.
But Kubernetes itself remains difficult to manage. Per a survey by computing services firm Civo, 54% of developers believe Kubernetes’ complexity is slowing down their employer.
That’s led to the rise of vendors like Spectro Cloud, which develops software to help manage Kubernetes. Spectro Cloud provides storage, networking and other layers, like security, that are necessary to orchestrate a Kubernetes deployment.
Spectro Cloud was founded by Tenry Fu in 2019, who previously was a staff architect at McAfee, staff engineer at VMware, and chief architect for Cisco’s cloud platform solutions group. Fu started Spectro Cloud with Gautam Joshi and Saad Malik, with whom he’d previously launched CliQr, a startup that helped customers manage applications across hybrid cloud environments. CliQr was acquired by Cisco in 2016 for $260 million.
Spectro Cloud’s solutions work across on-premise, multi-cloud, and edge environments, which gives it a leg up over some competitors. The company also doesn’t focus on a specific “stack” or Kubernetes distribution, Fu said, allowing customers to bring their own flavor for their specific use cases.
“By providing one or many declarative and flexible ‘stacks’ for their Kubernetes deployments, Spectro Cloud enables enterprises to manage multi-cluster, multi-distro in multi-environment efficiently,” he told TechCrunch. “The platform is designed to scale to manage tens of thousands of clusters.”
Spectro Cloud’s rivals range from Akuity to Loft Labs to IBM’s Kubecost. Still, the company seems to be doing well enough to maintain investors’ attention. Customers include GE Healthcare, T-Mobile, Nokia, and the U.S. Airforce and Navy.
Fu said that the public sector and defense are major growth areas.
“For the last two years, we have built a product edition specific to the public sector, and we have seen tremendous success,” he said. “There is a huge adoption trend for cloud-native in government, and every moving object, such as planes, tanks, ships, all become edge locations.”
Spectro Cloud said on Tuesday that it raised $75 million in a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs. Bringing the company’s total raised to $160 million and valuing it at $750 million post-money, the new cash will be used for product development and expanding Spectro Cloud’s partnerships, Fu said.
“Some of the key areas for us are edge and AI, working with hardware, storage, and cloud providers to make both virtual machines and GPUs the first-class citizen in Kubernetes,” Fu said. “This is critical with all the current tailwinds in the industry around unified management for virtual machines, container, and AI workloads, and providing a new simplified experience for developers.”
Spectro Cloud also plans to add around 30 people to its ~200-person workforce by the end of the year.
