GitLab raises $20 million in funding to create DevOps software, tools
GitLab has raised $20 million in a Series C funding round which will provide a cash injection for the development of new products with a focus on Kubernetes.
The open source Git repository, which says its software is used by two-thirds of enterprise players, said on Monday that the latest funding round, led by GV -- formerly known as Google Ventures -- builds upon a past Series B funding round worth $20 million, and will be utilized for software development.
Since its launch in 2014, GitLab software is used by over 10,000 companies worldwide.
The company is known for its Git repository management tools but has also expanded in recent years to offer source code management, code review, automaton tests, and application monitoring systems.
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With the introduction of more DevOps-focused tools, GitLab now counts companies including Ticketmaster, ING, NASDAQ, Alibaba, Sony, and Intel among its client base.
GitLab says that the funding will be used to develop specialized application development and operations for developers, as well as add new functionality for "packaging, releasing, configuring, and monitoring software."
The company has raised over $45 million taking into account the latest funding injection and has previously acquired Gitorious and Gitter, an open-source infrastructure tools provider and developer chat platform, respectively.
Alongside the funding announcement, GitLab also announced that WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has joined GitLab's executive board to improve the firm's open-source strategy.
The overall aim of becoming the go-to provider for software based on Kubernetes, an open-source system for automating processes related to deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications and systems.
"GitLab's powerful momentum and scaling have a lot of parallels to Automattic and WordPress in their early days," said Mullenweg. "WordPress had to battle a lot of competitors, and ultimately came out on top as a successful company on an open source business model."
"I hope to help GitLab achieve the same triumph," the executive added. "Fundamentally, I want to help create the kind of internet that I want to live in and I want my children to live in, one that reaches a global audience and one that is able to make a difference."
Last month, GitLab updated its Enterprise and Community software editions with new features. Through the latest release, GitLab 10.0, developers can introduce automated processes and Kubernetes-based app development into their creations.
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