Highlights:
- The company’s first promise is to simplify the process of setting up container clusters.
- For customers whose needs go beyond its core features, Spectro Cloud offers two specialized versions of its platform.
A provider of Kubernetes tooling, Spectro Cloud Inc., has secured USD 75 million in new funding to advance its technology.
In its funding announcement recently, the startup revealed that Goldman Sachs led the investment, with several existing investors also contributing. Sources indicate that the Series C round values Spectro Cloud at USD 750 million post-money.
Kubernetes is an open-source framework that automates much of the management of software containers. However, even with Kubernetes in place, the workflow can remain complex. Spectro Cloud, based in San Jose, California, offers a platform called Palette that simplifies several container maintenance tasks that Kubernetes doesn’t fully address.
The company’s primary commitment is to streamline the setup of container clusters. Palette enables the packaging of a Kubernetes distribution, an operating system, and related software modules into a “Cluster Profile.” When developers need to create a new Kubernetes environment, they can simply launch a Cluster Profile template, eliminating the need to manually assemble the required components.
The platform’s templating feature also helps streamline the identification of misconfigurations. Every hour, Palette scans a Kubernetes deployment for settings that differ from the Cluster Profile template it is based on. If any changes are found, the platform notifies administrators of the accidental modifications.
Along with simplifying the Kubernetes setup workflow, Palette also aims to streamline various day-to-day maintenance tasks. Its “rolling update” feature allows for upgrading the core components of a Kubernetes cluster without interrupting workloads. In the background, Palette monitors for potential cybersecurity risks and periodically creates backups to ensure critical data can be restored after an outage.
For customers whose needs go beyond its core features, Spectro Cloud provides two specialized versions of its platform.
The first version, Palette Edge, is designed to support edge computing environments with limited hardware resources. While Kubernetes is usually deployed across multiple servers, Palette Edge enables deployment on a single machine. It also supports K3s, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution that requires less than 100 megabytes of storage.
Public sector customers use a version of Spectro Cloud’s platform called Palette VerteX, which is tailored to integrate with FIPS 140-2 security modules. These are specialized, tamper-resistant hardware devices used for tasks like storing the encryption keys of a Kubernetes environment.
Spectro Cloud states that its latest funding milestone comes after three years of triple-digit growth in annual recurring revenue. Its customers include large enterprises such as GE HealthCare Technologies Inc., Nokia Inc., and others.
The company plans to use its newly secured funding to enhance the platform’s edge computing capabilities. At the same time, it aims to expand its partner network and is set to hire around 30 new employees by the end of the year to support these initiatives.
