Cluster management startup Loft Labs Inc., the creators of Kubernetes tools vCluster and DevPod, today announced it has raised $24 million in new funding to further develop the company’s engineering tools and create new solutions for simplifying Kubernetes management and multicloud integration.

Founded in 2019, Loft Labs pitches itself as the leading provider of platform engineering building blocks. The company offers Kubernetes-native tools, functionality and frameworks built for platform engineers to manage, activate and optimize their platform stack.

The company says those engineering building blocks help developers solve some of their hardest challenges, including artificial intelligence deployment, streamlining multicloud management and infrastructure costs.

Loft Lab tools help developers working with AI and machine learning set up and manage complex infrastructures that require extensive compute resources, with vCluster significantly reducing the complexity involved in spinning up and managing clusters of graphics processing units and central processing units. The solution cuts down the time and effort required and also offers a unified interface for data management, streamlining the process of training and testing AI models.

For multicloud management, vCluster addresses the logistical issue of managing applications across multiple cloud environments by providing a single interface that simplifies the deployment, management and scaling of applications across various clouds, ensuring a consistent experience for users.

Costs are also challenged, with vCluster offering a cost-effective solution that minimizes the need for expensive hardware and software. With the service, companies can reduce the time and resources required to manage infrastructure, making it an ideal tool for developers and platform engineers.

Core to what Loft Labs offers is demystifying Kubernetes management, which the company argues can introduce complexity that can be a significant hurdle for developers. VCluster simplifies Kubernetes management by providing a web-based interface that removes complexity to allow developers to focus on their core competency, writing code.

Loft Labs said it has seen strong growth, including increasing its annual recurring revenue by a multiple of 4.6 times over the last year, though it didn’t reveal absolute dollar figures.

“Our growing customer base is using vCluster and DevPod to increase reliability, streamline engineering workflows and lower costs,” Lukas Gentele, co-founder and chief executive officer of Loft Labs, said ahead of the announcement. “Our focus has always been to create things for platform builders, and we are only at the beginning. Efficient Kubernetes multi-tenancy with vCluster and consistent dev environments with DevPod are just the first top-of-mind challenges we wanted to solve for platform teams.”

Khosla Ventures LP led the Series A round, with existing investors Fusion Fund LLC, Surface Ventures Ltd., Emergent Ventures Inc. and Berkeley SkyDeck Fund LP also participating. Also joining the round was Kit Merker, one of the first product managers for Kubernetes at Google LLC.

Including the new funding, Loft Labs has raised $28.6 million to date.

Image: Loft Labs