Platform9
San Jose, US Β· Founded 2013 Β· 177 employees on LinkedIn Β· 8 known investors
Platform9 provides a managed private cloud platform that allows enterprises to run virtual machines and containers on existing on-premise hardware infrastructure. The platform serves as an alternative to VMware, offering self-service capabilities, multi-tenancy, and Kubernetes integration with automated migration tooling.
Also known as Platform9 Systems India Pvt. Ltd. Β· Platform9 Systems, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Platform9 was founded in 2013 by Madhura Maskasky, Roopak Parikh, and Sirish Raghuram.
Investors Β· 8
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Platform9 (Platform9 Systems, Inc.) develops software for running private clouds on enterprises' existing server and storage infrastructure. Its flagship product, Private Cloud Director, provides virtual machine management with capabilities positioned as drop-in replacements for core VMware functions, including high availability, live migration (described as a vMotion equivalent), and dynamic resource rebalancing (DRS-like behavior), together with self-service provisioning, REST APIs, multi-tenancy, SSO, and built-in Kubernetes so that VMs and containers are managed from a single control plane. An open-source-derived migration tool, vJailbreak, automates movement of workloads from VMware environments and, as of the August 2025 release, can convert entire vSphere clusters in place and support migration without additional "swing capacity" hardware.
Historically the company positioned itself as an "open-source-as-a-service" and later "open distributed cloud" vendor, delivering OpenStack, Kubernetes and the Fission serverless framework as SaaS-managed services, with a management plane used to remotely install, operate and maintain clusters across public cloud, on-premises and edge locations. Capabilities cited include automated security patching, on-demand upgrades, self-healing clusters, multiversion support and audit logging. Product additions include Platform9 OS, announced in May 2026, a turnkey KVM-ready Linux distribution shipped with Private Cloud Director intended to remove the Linux systems administration burden for VMware administrators.
The platform integrates with third-party enterprise infrastructure: storage from NetApp, Pure Storage and Dell/EMC (with Fibre Channel, iSCSI, NFS and local disk backends); x86 servers from Dell, HPE, Cisco, Lenovo and SuperMicro; backup and DR products from Commvault, Cohesity/Veritas, Rubrik and Veeam; observability tools including Datadog, New Relic, Splunk, Dynatrace, Prometheus and Grafana; and Omnissa Horizon VDI.
Founding story
Platform9 was founded in 2013 by Sirish Raghuram, Madhura Maskasky, Bich Le and Roopak Parikh, a team of early VMware engineers who had previously worked together on virtualization products. Their thesis was that open source ecosystems would supply a broad range of cloud technologies but that enterprises needed a simpler way to operationalize them; they studied Apache CloudStack, OpenStack, LXD and Kubernetes and sought to deliver public-cloud-like agility without confining enterprises to a walled garden.
Business model
Platform9 sells its private cloud software as a SaaS-managed offering with subscription licensing and day-2 support, supplemented by professional services around VMware migration. It also runs partner motions: a technology partner program offering joint integration validation, co-marketing and placement in sales and technical documentation, and the Platform9 Cloud Solution Provider Program (PCSP) for service providers, which carries a stated $1,000/month platform fee with unlimited cores for 90 days and free VMware migration tooling.
Subscription/SaaS revenue from managed private cloud and Kubernetes products; company disclosures have referenced ARR, total contract value and net revenue retention as key metrics. Service-provider pricing is per-region with a $1,000/month platform fee and a 90-day unlimited-core period.
Traction
In 2017 the company reported 60+ enterprise customers, 200+ enterprise clouds managed, 360% customer base growth, 300% revenue growth and 125% net revenue retention. For fiscal 2020 it reported 145% ARR growth, 340% customer base increase, 363% TCV growth, 114% net revenue retention, an NPS of 71 and a 99% customer satisfaction score. In 2022 it reported over 60 enterprise customers, 120 employees, 40,000 nodes powered across private, public and edge clouds, 100% business growth from 2021 to 2022 and 132% net revenue retention. In 2025 it disclosed a Fortune 500 migration of more than 40,000 VMs across 3,000 hypervisors at roughly 200 VMs per day and $35 per VM.
Latest developments
July 2026: named a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Private and Hybrid Cloud Management with Automation 2026. June 2026: launched the Platform9 Cloud Solution Provider Program for providers affected by the VCSP sunset in March 2027. May 2026: announced Platform9 OS, a KVM-ready Linux distribution shipped with Private Cloud Director. April 2026: reported its global channel partner program doubled in two quarters. March 2026: Tintri highlighted integrated stack collaboration with Platform9. August 2025: released a Private Cloud Director update with AI hardware support and vJailbreak in-place cluster conversion plus a swing-capacity workaround.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Platform9 competes as an alternative to VMware for enterprise virtualization and private cloud, a market disrupted by Broadcom's acquisition of VMware and the wind-down of the VMware Cloud Service Provider program. It was positioned as a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Private and Hybrid Cloud Management with Automation 2026 Vendor Assessment, and in 2017 described itself as the leader in hybrid cloud management by number of clouds managed (200+).
Positions on reuse of existing servers, storage, networking, backup and DR tools rather than forced re-platforming or HCI adoption; a familiar VMware-like administrative interface and feature set; automated, in-place migration tooling (vJailbreak) that the company says shortens VMware migrations from months to weeks at about one tenth the cost and can avoid the need for swing capacity hardware; unified management of VMs and containers with built-in Kubernetes; and a SaaS-managed model with day-2 support that customers say reduced staffing needs.
Technology
KVM-based virtualization with a SaaS control plane; built-in Kubernetes; vJailbreak automated VMware migration tooling including in-place vSphere cluster conversion; Platform9 OS, a KVM-ready Linux distribution. The company's founders drew on open-source infrastructure projects including Apache CloudStack, OpenStack, LXD and Kubernetes, and Platform9 authored Fission, an open source serverless framework, and Omni, OpenStack extensions for managing public clouds. The platform supports multiple storage protocols, AI/GPU hardware, REST APIs, CLI tooling and infrastructure-as-code.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales augmented by channel and service-provider routes. The company markets aggressively around VMware displacement following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, using comparison content, buyer's guides, hands-on labs for VMware admins and migration case studies. Its Cloud Solution Provider Program targets partners affected by the VMware Cloud Service Provider program sunset scheduled for March 2027, and press materials state its global channel partner program doubled in two quarters (April 2026). It also exhibits at industry events such as Cisco Live and pursues analyst recognition.
Large enterprises and Fortune 500 IT organizations running VMware estates, plus cloud and managed service providers. Named customers and references include Cloudera, EBSCO Information Services, Juniper Networks, SambaNova, Yext, Rackspace, Snapfish, Kingfisher Retail, Redfin, Cadence Design, Autodesk, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sony PlayStation and MSP Meriplex.
Geography
North American headquarters at 84 W Santa Clara St, Suite 800, San Jose, California; earlier headquarters were reported in Mountain View (2020-2022) and Sunnyvale (2017), California. An Indian subsidiary, Platform9 Systems India Pvt. Ltd., operates in Baner, Pune, Maharashtra. Customers are described as global enterprises across private, public and edge cloud deployments.
History
Founded in 2013 by former VMware engineers, Platform9 raised a $22 million Series C in June 2017 led by Canvas Ventures with HPE, Redpoint Ventures and Menlo Ventures, bringing total capital raised to $36.5 million at the time. In January 2021 it announced a $12.5 million Series D expansion led by WRVI Capital, taking the Series D to $37.5 million, alongside fiscal 2020 growth in its SaaS Managed Kubernetes business. In June 2022 it raised $26 million led by Celesta Capital with Cota Capital and NGP Capital, with funding to date stated at $100 million and Bhaskar Gorti serving as CEO. Private Cloud Director launched in October 2024 (its one-year anniversary was marked in October 2025), and the company subsequently shipped enhanced vJailbreak migration capabilities (2025), Platform9 OS (May 2026) and the Cloud Solution Provider Program (June 2026).
Risks & controversies
Sources do not describe controversies. Business context risks implied by the material include dependence on the VMware displacement wave following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware and on the VCSP program sunset, and competition from established virtualization and cloud vendors.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Competitors Β· 5
by search overlap
Companies competing with Platform9 for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 11
launches, deals, and filingsIDC MarketScape vendor assessment evaluating current capabilities and strategy across virtualization management, Kubernetes operations, automation and infrastructure modernization positioned Platform9 as a Major Player.
Program for cloud service providers transitioning off VMware ahead of the VCSP program sunset in March 2027, with per-region pricing, a $1,000/month platform fee, 90 days of unlimited-core pricing and free VMware migration tooling.
Platform9 announced Platform9 OS, a turnkey KVM-ready Linux distribution shipping with Private Cloud Director, intended to let VMware administrators operate a private cloud without traditional Linux administration.
Platform9 press release reported that its global channel partner program doubled over two quarters.
SiliconANGLE coverage of Tintri spotlighting AI cost control and its integrated stack collaboration with Platform9.
Platform9 marked the first anniversary of Private Cloud Director, its private cloud product for VMware users that runs on existing server and storage infrastructure.
Platform9 released an updated Private Cloud Director and enhanced its vJailbreak tool to convert entire VMware vSphere clusters in place, including a swing-capacity workaround that avoids extra hardware; the company estimated migrations shorten from months to weeks at about one tenth the cost.
Round led by Celesta Capital with Cota Capital, NGP Capital and others; proceeds earmarked for go-to-market and product R&D. Total funding to date stated at $100 million.
$26M source β
Platform9 announced two executive team appointments alongside its funding round; A'Bell came from sales executive roles at Oracle and Nokia, Jacob was previously a CVP at Intel. Bhaskar Gorti was CEO at the time.
Additional Series-D funding led by WRVI Capital with all existing investors participating, announced alongside fiscal 2020 SaaS Managed Kubernetes growth figures.
$12.5M source β
Series C funding led by Canvas Ventures with participation from HPE, Redpoint Ventures and Menlo Ventures, bringing total raised to $36.5 million.
$22M source β
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Platform9platform9.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Platform9 do?
- Platform9 sells Private Cloud Director, a VMware-alternative private cloud platform for VMs and Kubernetes on existing hardware.
- Who founded Platform9?
- Platform9 was founded by Madhura Maskasky, Roopak Parikh, Sirish Raghuram in 2013.
- Who are Platform9's investors?
- Platform9's investors include Canvas Ventures, Celesta Capital, Celesta Capital, Cota Capital, NewBuild.VC, NGP Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures.
- Where is Platform9 headquartered?
- Platform9 is headquartered in San Jose, US.