CoreOS acquires tiny startup Redspread, will add technology to Kubernetes and Tectonic

CoreOS, a startup that provides a distribution of Linux for servers and tools for working with the open-source Kubernetes container management software, is announcing today that it has acquired a small startup called Redspread, which developed software for managing Kubernetes.

This is not a major financial deal. The Redspread team comprises just two founders: chief executive Mackenzie Burnett and chief technology officer Dan Gillespie, and the duo focused on open-source tooling rather than on selling their technology. Investors include Y Combinator (Redspread went through its winter 2016 batch).

CoreOS will incorporate Redspread’s technology into the Tectonic offering and will also seek to push it into the upstream Kubernetes project, CoreOS cofounder and chief executive Alex Polvi wrote in a blog post.

While CoreOS’ backing could help Redspread’s tools become more widely used in the Kubernetes community, the acquisition could also help CoreOS distinguish itself further from other companies that offer hosted container deployment services, including public clouds like the Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services. In the past few years, containers have become a trendy alternative or supplement to virtual machines, many of which can run on top of a single physical server. CoreOS has contributed to the rise of containers, as have other startups, like Docker and Mesosphere.

Redspread started last year and had its headquarters in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood. The two founders will work at CoreOS’ headquarters in San Francisco’s nearby Mission neighborhood.

To date CoreOS has raised $50 million. This deal follows CoreOS’ acquisition of Quay.io in 2014.