IBM buys Kubernetes cost control startup Kubecost to expand its FinOps suite

IBM Corp. today announced the expansion of its cloud financial operations capabilities after announcing plans to acquire Kubecost, a startup specializing in Kubernetes cost management.

The company did not disclose how much it will pay to buy Kubecost, officially known as Stackwatch Inc., but it is the latest in a series of acquisitions involving related companies.

Founded in 2019, San Francisco-based Kubecost is a cloud service that helps organizations monitor and optimize Kubernetes clusters that host modern application components. It is designed to ensure that these clusters are using their compute resources in the most efficient way possible to enable better cost management.

Kubecost’s flagship product is Kubecost Cloud, which is based on the open source project OpenCost. It provides developers and engineering teams with practical and accurate data on the costs of installing Kubernetes, as well as various other tools that can help reduce the cost of running this software. It can be deployed on any Kubernetes cluster, where it tries to find ways to reduce the cost of operation without affecting application performance.

The focus on efficiency aligns with IBM’s broader FinOps efforts. In June 2023, IBM acquired a startup called Apptio Inc., a provider of tools that pull data from disparate financial, operational and billing systems to provide a fact-based understanding of technology cost, quality and value.

Before this acquisition, IBM also opened its checkbook to buy startups Turbonomic Inc. and Instana Inc., which also focus on cloud cost optimization. Additionally, in 2019, Apptio itself bought another startup called Cloudability Inc., which specializes in multicloud cost tracking.

IBM said Kubecost capabilities will be integrated into its growing FinOps Suite, adding to the combined capabilities of Apptio, Cloudability, Instana, and Turbonomic to provide what is likely the most comprehensive set of cost monitoring tools. The company didn’t say, but there’s clear potential for Kubecost technology to be integrated into IBM’s OpenShift software platform as well.

Prior to today’s acquisition, Kubecost raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Coatue Management in 2022, following a $5.5 million seed round raised a year earlier.

Kubecost co-founder and CEO Webb Brown expressed excitement about the acquisition. “We started out monitoring Kubernetes costs and proudly became the most widely adopted solution in the cloud-native ecosystem,” he said. “Now, with this merger, we’re poised to accelerate our mission by delivering broader, comprehensive cost management solutions to teams around the world.”

In January 2022, Brown appeared on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile streaming studio, where he detailed the OpenCost project, explaining how it helped some companies reduce their Kubernetes spend by up to 80%:

Image: SiliconANGLE/Microsoft Designer