Hedgehog
Hedgehog SONiC Foundation is a Seattle-based open networking software company that delivers a Kubernetes-native SONiC-based network fabric for AI and HPC data center operators, cloud providers, and system integrators deploying Ethernet-based GPU clusters, monetizing through per-node software subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Hedgehog does
Hedgehog SONiC Foundation, Inc. is a Seattle-based, privately held open networking software company that builds the Hedgehog Open Network Fabric, a Kubernetes-native network operating system layered on the open-source SONiC distribution. The product provides spine-leaf and mesh topologies using BGP EVPN/VXLAN overlays, manages switches through Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) and the gNMI interface, and adds RoCE v2 lossless Ethernet, multi-tenant VPCs, and an actively-redundant Gateway component for VPC peering and external connectivity. Its core components include the Fabric Controller, the per-switch Fabric Agent, and the Fabricator (hhfab) command-line installer; software is distributed open-source via GitHub and packaged through ghcr.io. The company's strategic positioning is anchored by OCP Accepted reference architectures for AI training and inference fabrics, validated on Celestica and Edgecore hardware, and by native integration with NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet under the NVIDIA Cloud Partner program.
Hedgehog serves AI and HPC data center operators, cloud service providers, and system integrators deploying Ethernet-based GPU clusters, with a named reference customer in Zipline (drone delivery). Revenue is generated through per-unit (system or node) annual software subscriptions auto-renewing absent 30-day notice, supplemented by paid professional services (device certification, integration, implementation) and training, with a free Design Partner Program used as the evaluation funnel. GTM combines bottom-up product-led adoption (free Virtual Lab, free network planning workshops, OCP Marketplace) with top-down enterprise sales for larger fabric deployments, supported by participation in OCP Global Summit and OCP EMEA Summit. The company is led by Founder & CEO Marc Austin and CTO Manish Vachharajani, with a VP Sales and VP Finance rounding out the commercial leadership team, and has raised approximately $11.9M in cumulative disclosed funding across a 2022 Form D and a November 2025 round.
Hedgehog firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hedgehog
- Legal name
- Hedgehog SONiC Foundation, Inc.
- Website
- https://hedgehog.cloud
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hedgehog SONiC Foundation is a Seattle-based open networking software company that delivers a Kubernetes-native SONiC-based network fabric for AI and HPC data center operators, cloud providers, and system integrators deploying Ethernet-based GPU clusters, monetizing through per-node software subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hedgehog industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Data Center Networking Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Edge Security Delivery (DDoS, WAF, Bot Mitigation at Edge) (HDABAGAH)
Keywords
Where Hedgehog is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Hedgehog business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Subscriptions: Time-bound software subscriptions priced based on Units (systems or nodes) deployed. Subscriptions automatically renew for successive terms unless cancelled with 30 days notice. Fees are non-refundable and payable in US dollars with net 30 payment terms.
- Support Services: Support terms and Service Level Agreements offered as add-on subscriptions to the core software product.
- Professional Services: Consulting services including device certifications, software integration, and implementation support.
- Training Services: Access to Hedgehog training courses including online courses or on-site training.
- Evaluation Subscriptions: Free evaluation subscriptions for testing and demonstration purposes, available through the Design Partner Program. Not for production use.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Evaluation - Free tier for testing and evaluation |
| Subscription | Annual | Subscription - Time-bound software licensing |
| Other | Others | Professional Services - Consulting and implementation |
| Other | Others | Training Services - Educational courses |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Hedgehog product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hedgehog sells the Hedgehog Open Network Fabric, an open-source Kubernetes-native network fabric software based on SONiC that connects GPUs, servers, and storage in AI and HPC data centers. The product is delivered as a software appliance with the Fabricator (hhfab) CLI for deployment, the Fabric Agent running on each switch, and the Gateway module for VPC peering and external connectivity, and is licensed under Apache 2.0 with commercial subscriptions sold per Unit (system or node). It targets enterprises, cloud providers, and system builders operating GPU-dense AI training and inference fabrics, and is complemented by OCP Accepted reference architectures, professional services, training, and support subscriptions.
Product overview
Hedgehog offers the Hedgehog Open Network Fabric, an open-source Kubernetes-native network fabric for AI infrastructure. The core product consists of the Open Network Fabric (managed via Kubernetes CRDs), the Fabricator (hhfab) CLI tool for deployment and management, the Fabric Agent running on switches, and the Gateway module for VPC peering and external connectivity. The product supports spine-leaf and mesh topologies, multi-tenancy through VPCs, RoCE v2 for RDMA workloads, and integrates with NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet. Hedgehog provides an OCP Accepted AI reference architecture for deploying AI training and inference fabrics, along with a Virtual Lab (VLAB) for evaluation. The company operates on an open-source model with Apache 2.0 licensing and contributions to the SONiC open-source project.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hedgehog Open Network Fabric An open-source Kubernetes-native network fabric based on SONiC that provides connectivity between virtual and physical workloads with isolation via BGP EVPN and VXLAN, supporting spine-leaf and mesh topologies and multi-tenancy through Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs). Sold to enterprises, cloud providers, and system builders deploying AI training and inference infrastructure.
- Fabricator (hhfab) A command-line tool for installing, configuring, and managing Hedgehog Fabric deployments, used to provision control nodes, build installer images, manage fabric configuration, and operate the Virtual Lab (VLAB) for testing.
- Gateway A fabric component enabling peering between VPCs and external networks, supporting stateful source NAT, stateless NAT, active-passive redundancy, multiple gateway groups, Port Address Translation, and Masquerade with throughput up to 120 Gb/s across multiple streams.
- Virtual Lab (VLAB) A fully virtual environment using QEMU/KVM and SONiC Virtual Switch for testing and learning about Hedgehog Fabric, supporting spine-leaf and mesh topology configurations, not suitable for data plane or performance testing.
- OCP Accepted AI Reference Architectures Open Compute Project Accepted reference architectures for AI training fabric and AI inference fabric, providing validated production-ready blueprints for deploying open, Ethernet-based AI networks using disaggregated hardware with interoperability across silicon vendors.
- NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet Support Integrated support for NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet and NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architecture, enabling cloud providers to deploy AI-optimized fabrics with cloud-native operational models for large-scale AI workloads.
- Support Services Subscription-based support and Service Level Agreements offered as add-ons to the Hedgehog Open Network Fabric software subscriptions for enterprise customers.
- Professional Services Consulting services covering device certifications, software integration, and implementation support for Hedgehog Fabric deployments, quoted separately based on the scope of engagement.
- Training Services Educational courses covering Hedgehog Fabric, delivered as online courses or on-site training for customer engineering teams.
Quantifiable outcome
- Time to GPU value in hours instead of months for network deployment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Hedgehog
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hedgehog technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability4 records
Feature12 records
Hedgehog partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- CelesticacoreCelestica collaborated with Hedgehog to validate the AI training fabric and AI inference fabric reference architectures across open systems as an OCP hardware partner. Celestica's hardware is used in validating Hedgehog's OCP Accepted reference designs for AI network deployments.
- Open Compute Project (OCP)coreHedgehog contributed its AI training fabric and AI inference fabric designs to the Open Compute Project as OCP Accepted™ reference architectures, immediately available through the OCP Marketplace. The contributions provide validated, production-ready blueprints for deploying open, Ethernet-based AI networks.
- NVIDIAcoreHedgehog announced support for NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet and NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architecture at GTC 2026. This enables cloud providers to deploy AI-optimized fabrics with cloud-native operational models, integrating high-performance AI-optimized Ethernet for large-scale AI workloads. Deployment scheduled for Q2 2026.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hedgehog competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cisco Systems: Cisco offers a broad networking portfolio including SONiC-based offerings and AI fabric solutions through its Nexus and Silicon One platforms. It is a broad incumbent competing in the same data center and AI networking category.
- Broadcom: Broadcom supplies the Tomahawk (TD3/TH3/TH4G/TH5) silicon that powers much of Hedgehog's supported switch portfolio. It is a critical silicon ecosystem participant with adjacent networking software and switching products.
- Juniper Networks: Juniper provides data center switching and AI cluster networking solutions (including Apstra and Mist AI). It is a broad incumbent with overlapping AI fabric capabilities and is being acquired by HPE.
Others
- Celestica: Celestica is an OCP hardware partner whose DS2000, DS4101, DS5000, and DCS240 platforms are validated as part of Hedgehog's OCP Accepted AI reference architectures. It is a hardware ecosystem partner, not a direct competitor.
Direct peers
- DriveNets: DriveNets offers network disaggregation software for cloud and AI workloads, running on white-box hardware with a cloud-native architecture. It is a direct competitor in the disaggregated network OS space.
- Pluribus Networks: Pluribus offers an open, Linux-based SDN fabric for data centers with a focus on automation and multi-tenancy. It targets similar enterprise and cloud-provider customers seeking disaggregated networking.
- NVIDIA (Spectrum-X / Mellanox): NVIDIA's Spectrum-X Ethernet platform and Mellanox-derived networking portfolio are turnkey AI fabric solutions that compete directly with Hedgehog's open-Ethernet approach. NVIDIA is simultaneously a partner and a competitor.
- Aviz Networks: Aviz Networks provides SONiC-based open networking software, multi-vendor support, and AI fabric orchestration tooling. It is a direct peer in the SONiC ecosystem targeting similar AI/HPC customers.
- Arista Networks: Arista is a leading provider of high-performance data center networking switches and software, with a strong focus on AI/ML fabric deployments. It is the most direct commercial competitor to Hedgehog in the high-speed, low-latency data center networking market.
- Edgecore Networks: Edgecore supplies white-box and OCP-compliant networking hardware (including Celestica-validated AS9726/DCS240) commonly used in SONiC and AI fabric deployments. It is both a partner and a key enabler in the open AI networking ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hedgehog social profiles
Digital presenceHedgehog financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hedgehog leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Hedgehog funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hedgehog M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hedgehog
What does Hedgehog do?
Hedgehog sells the Hedgehog Open Network Fabric, an open-source Kubernetes-native network fabric software based on SONiC that connects GPUs, servers, and storage in AI and HPC data centers. The product is delivered as a software appliance with the Fabricator (hhfab) CLI for deployment, the Fabric Agent running on each switch, and the Gateway module for VPC peering and external connectivity, and is licensed under Apache 2.0 with commercial subscriptions sold per Unit (system or node). It targets enterprises, cloud providers, and system builders operating GPU-dense AI training and inference fabrics, and is complemented by OCP Accepted reference architectures, professional services, training, and support subscriptions.
Is Hedgehog a public or private company?
Hedgehog is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hedgehog founded?
Hedgehog was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hedgehog based?
Hedgehog is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hedgehog make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Software Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are support Services, professional Services, training Services and evaluation Subscriptions.
Who are Hedgehog's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cisco Systems, Broadcom and Juniper Networks. Celestica is listed as an others. Direct peers are DriveNets, Pluribus Networks, NVIDIA (Spectrum-X / Mellanox), Aviz Networks, Arista Networks and Edgecore Networks.
Does Hedgehog have an API?
Yes. Hedgehog Fabric exposes all user-facing APIs as Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs). The primary interface is the kubectl fabric plugin (Fabric CLI), which provides commands for managing Fabric resources including: fabric inspect (for inspecting fabric configuration and state), switch management, VPC/subnet inspection, BGP neighbor inspection, LLDP neighbor inspection, IP and MAC address inspection, and access verification between IPs/subnets. The architecture also uses gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface) internally for the Fabric Agent to configure switches. Additional documented APIs include Fabric & Gateway APIs, Fabricator API, Gateway API, and Fabric CLI. Developer documentation is at docs.hedgehog.cloud.
What industry is Hedgehog in?
Hedgehog's product category is AI Data Center Networking Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAGAH, Edge Security Delivery (DDoS, WAF, Bot Mitigation at Edge). Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7370.