Keel

What Keel does

Keel (legal entity Planko Ltd) is a UK-based software company that sells a code-first, schema-driven operations platform positioned as a modern alternative to legacy ERP. Customers define their data models, business actions, and row- and role-based permissions in Keel's proprietary schema language; the platform then auto-generates a fully hosted backend exposing JSON, GraphQL and RPC APIs, plus internal admin tools (KYC, onboarding, inventory, fulfilment, procurement, invoicing, ticketing). The backend is a multi-region serverless environment with built-in OpenTelemetry observability, audit logs, secrets management, PR-preview/branch environments, scheduled jobs, and deny-by-default access control, and the engine is open-source on GitHub and self-hostable. Extensions are written in TypeScript with end-to-end type safety and a strongly typed database client, and a VSCode extension and local CLI support a developer-led onboarding path.

The company serves operations teams at fast-growing businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets and find legacy ERP too rigid or slow, with primary use cases spanning orders, inventory, fulfilment, warehouse, production and procurement. Its go-to-market is hybrid: a sales-led motion offering 'Book a personalised demo' and a high-touch 'Build for me' implementation service, paired with a product-led funnel through the public Keel console, open-source engine and developer tooling. Pricing is fully quote-based subscription (annual, GBP) with bespoke 'Build for me' implementation engagements; no public price list is published. Keel was founded in 2021 by the former CEO, CTO and CPO of Echo (a UK online pharmacy that scaled to ~600,000 customers and ~$130m ARR on custom operations software), is registered at Altrincham, Cheshire, operates hybrid from Shoreditch, London, and raised approximately $6m in October 2024 from Earlybird Venture Capital and LocalGlobe.

Name

Keel

Legal name

Planko Ltd

Website

https://keel.so

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Keel (Planko Ltd) is a UK-based software company that sells a code-first, schema-driven operations platform as a modern ERP alternative for fast-growing operations teams in e-commerce, retail, 3PL, wholesale, manufacturing and regulated industries. Revenue is generated via quote-based subscriptions and high-touch 'Build for me' implementation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Operations Platform Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Platform Engineering & Internal Developer Platforms (IDP) (BPAEAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Process & Case Management Low-Code Platforms (HDAEAKAE)

Keywords

• Operations platform
• Schema-driven backend
• ERP alternative
• Internal tools platform
• Code-first development

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software subscription: Per the Terms of Service, customers purchase access to the Keel Software, with recurring charges that continue until cancelled; VAT is added where required and payments are processed in GBP via an online billing account. Prices and features are not publicly listed.
2. 'Build for me' professional services / implementation: High-touch service where Keel's team works with the customer to model the platform around their actual business process in real time, going live in weeks and handing ownership over to the customer's team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Keel is a code-first, schema-driven operations platform on which teams define their data model, actions and permissions in a Keel schema; the platform then auto-generates JSON, GraphQL and RPC APIs, a fully managed multi-region serverless backend, and admin/operations internal tools, positioning itself as a modern alternative to legacy ERP for fast-moving operations teams. Customers can extend the platform with TypeScript custom functions, self-host the open-source engine, and use a "Build for me" professional service where Keel's team models the platform around the customer's business and hands it over post go-live.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Keel Console: The Keel console — the web-based operations platform/console (login at console.keel.so) used to manage Keel-built applications, schemas, and internal tools.
• Keel Tokenization Regatta

Products and services

• Keel Operations Platform
• Keel Internal Tools
• Keel Backend APIs (JSON, GraphQL, RPC)
• "Build for me" Implementation Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Legacy ERP projects cited as having median cost of £450,000 and 15.5-month implementation time, with 70%+ failing to meet original business case goals (cited by Keel as the problem it solves).
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GitHub (open-source distribution)coreTechnology or IntegrationKeel publishes its backend engine as open source on GitHub at github.com/teamkeel/keel, with the GitHub link featured in the site footer. The platform is described as 'Open-source' on both the homepage and product overview, and the internal-tools page states the platform is 'powered by a powerful open source backend engine'. This is core to Keel's developer-led distribution and credibility.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VSCode extension)coreTechnology or IntegrationKeel offers a dedicated VSCode extension so developers can get a full development environment up and running in seconds, develop their frontend against the local backend, write and run tests, and push changes. The extension is called out in the 'Actually built for developers' feature list and is a core part of the developer onboarding funnel.
• Third-party OIDC identity providers (e.g. Google, Facebook, GitHub)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe product overview states Keel provides 'rich support for seamlessly integrating with third-party authentication providers, such as Google, Facebook and GitHub' and lists '3rd-party OIDC auth providers' as a platform feature. This is core to the platform's auth model and enterprise readiness.
• Echo (founders' prior company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKeel was founded in 2021 by the former CEO, CTO and CPO of Echo, Europe's fastest-growing online pharmacy, after they built extensive custom operations software to run a regulated, high-volume pharmacy shipping 50,000 medicines daily to 600,000 customers and reaching $130m ARR. That custom software became the basis for Keel and is repeatedly cited as the platform's proof point.
• GushworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe resource hub page footer is 'Powered by Gushwork' with a link to gushwork.ai, indicating Gushwork provides the content/SEO publishing infrastructure for keel.so's service and blog pages.
• Egg (referenced customer; Quoted testimonial)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEgg is featured as a customer testimonial on Keel's homepage, with Usman Mahomed (Head of Product @ Egg) quoted: 'Keel is truly one of the most obvious wins I've ever seen in the Ops world'. Egg is positioned as a public reference customer for Keel's operations platform.
• FertifaminorOthersFertifa is referenced on the careers and talent-pool pages as a benefit partner, with Keel offering 'Membership with Fertifa' to employees (fertility, family-forming and reproductive health support).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Retool: Retool is a low-code internal-tools platform that lets ops teams build admin dashboards, workflows and CRUD apps fast — directly competing with Keel's auto-generated internal tools module. Both target operations teams needing bespoke internal apps without traditional ERP cost or timelines.
• Supabase: Supabase is an open-source backend-as-a-service with auto-generated REST/GraphQL APIs, row-level security, auth and TypeScript SDKs — a direct technical analogue to Keel's schema-driven, JSON/GraphQL/RPC backend engine. Both sell developer-led, code-first backends with self-hosting and Postgres under the hood.
• Hasura: Hasura auto-generates GraphQL/REST APIs from existing databases with row-level permissions, observability and a VSCode-style developer experience — closely comparable to Keel's auto-generated APIs and row/role-based permission engine. Both sell to engineering teams building data-heavy internal products.
• Appsmith: Appsmith is an open-source, code-first internal tools builder with drag-and-drop UI plus custom JS, comparable to Keel's 'auto-generated internal tools from schema' positioning. Both target ops teams building admin tools on top of their own data, with PLG and self-host motions.

Emerging players

• Internal.io (Budibase): Budibase is an open-source, low-code internal-tools builder for ops/admin apps — a partial-overlap emerging player in the same 'tools for operators' category as Keel's internal-tools module. Both ship self-host, code-first tooling, but Budibase emphasises low-code over Keel's schema-as-code approach.
• Builder.io: Builder.io is a headless CMS plus visual builder for product/ops UIs, comparable in spirit to Keel's auto-generated internal tools but focused on content-driven apps. Adjacent emerging player in the 'operators building bespoke internal systems' space.

Broad incumbents

• NetSuite (Oracle): NetSuite is a major cloud ERP incumbent explicitly listed by Keel as a comparator in its own MTO ERP roundup. Both target operations/order/inventory/procurement use cases for fast-moving businesses, but NetSuite sells a fixed-config ERP while Keel sells a customisable, code-owned alternative.
• Epicor Kinetic: Epicor Kinetic is a long-standing ERP for make-to-order and discrete manufacturing, named alongside Keel in Keel's own ERP comparison for MTO. Comparable in targeting production scheduling, work orders and BOM-driven operations, with a much larger installed base.
• Airtable: Airtable is a broad-incumbent operations platform used by ops teams for orders, inventory, approvals and internal workflows — directly overlapping with Keel's 'orders, tasks, approvals, inventory' positioning, but serving non-technical operators with a no-code model rather than Keel's code-first schema approach.
• Acumatica: Acumatica is a cloud ERP vendor positioned in Keel's 'Best ERP for Make-to-Order Manufacturing in 2025' roundup. It targets make-to-order manufacturers with configurable BOMs, job costing and production scheduling — direct vertical overlap with Keel's MTO use case.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/keelteam
• GitHubgithub.com/teamkeel/keel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keelteam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Keel