Wavefront
Wavefront (now Tanzu Observability by Broadcom) is a cloud-native observability platform providing unified metrics, logs, and traces analytics for enterprise DevOps and IT operations teams managing multi-cloud and Kubernetes environments.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Wavefront does
Wavefront was founded in 2013 as an independent cloud-native observability platform specializing in time-series data ingestion, storage, visualization, and alerting. The platform delivers unified visibility across the three pillars of observability — metrics, logs, and traces — for cloud-native applications and infrastructure, supporting millions of data points per second with full granularity retention (no down-sampling) and 1-second default bucket resolution. Following its acquisition by VMware in 2019, the product was rebranded as Tanzu Observability, and in 2023 it became part of Broadcom Inc. through Broadcom's acquisition of VMware. Wavefront now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary product brand within Broadcom's enterprise software portfolio.
The platform serves enterprise DevOps and IT operations teams managing complex multi-cloud and Kubernetes environments, with named customers spanning gaming (Space Ape), data infrastructure (Snowflake), food delivery (DoorDash), telecommunications (8x8), enterprise software (Workday), and financial services (Telenor Microfinance Bank). Core technical capabilities include a proprietary query language purpose-built for time-series analytics with high cardinality support, AI/analytics-powered adaptive multi-threshold alerting designed to eliminate alert storms, root-cause analysis aimed at reducing MTTR, and 250+ pre-packaged integrations across AWS, Azure, GCP, and major DevOps tools.
Wavefront generates revenue through enterprise subscription pricing for its cloud-based observability platform, sold via direct field sales with quote-based pricing tailored to enterprise requirements. The go-to-market is enterprise-focused, with deployments spanning hundreds of engineers at large organizations. Before its acquisition, the company raised approximately $65.5 million across a seed round and two Series B tranches from investors including Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Tenaya Capital, Webb Investment Network, and Workday Ventures. Standalone revenue for the Wavefront/Tanzu Observability product is no longer publicly disclosed following its consolidation into Broadcom's broader enterprise software segment.
Wavefront firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wavefront
- Legal name
- Wavefront, Inc.
- Website
- https://wavefront.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Wavefront (now Tanzu Observability by Broadcom) is a cloud-native observability platform providing unified metrics, logs, and traces analytics for enterprise DevOps and IT operations teams managing multi-cloud and Kubernetes environments.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wavefront industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Monitoring and Observability
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cloud-Native/Kubernetes Observability (HDABAJAF)
Keywords
Where Wavefront is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Wavefront business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- SaaS Observability Platform Subscription: Cloud-based observability platform sold as enterprise subscription. Part of Broadcom's Tanzu product portfolio targeting enterprise IT operations and DevOps teams requiring full-stack monitoring and analytics capabilities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Wavefront product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wavefront (now offered as VMware Tanzu Observability by Broadcom) is a cloud-native, SaaS-based unified observability platform that ingests, stores, visualizes, and alerts on time-series metrics, logs, and traces at millions of data points per second. It delivers Kubernetes observability, distributed tracing, AI/analytics-driven alerting, and full-stack visibility across multi-cloud environments for enterprise DevOps and IT operations teams.
Product overview
Tanzu Observability is a unified enterprise-grade cloud monitoring and analytics platform (formerly Wavefront, acquired by VMware and now part of Broadcom). It provides a single-source-of-truth solution for multi-cloud environments, combining metrics, logs, and traces into one platform. The platform delivers Kubernetes observability, application observability, and full-stack visibility with advanced alerting powered by AI/analytics, enabling faster issue resolution and improved uptime for DevOps teams managing modern cloud-native applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- VMware Tanzu Observability (formerly Wavefront)
Quantifiable outcome
- 300% monitoring capacity increase
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Wavefront
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Wavefront technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature7 records
Wavefront partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Wavefront competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Datadog: Leading cloud observability platform offering unified metrics, logs, traces, APM, and infrastructure monitoring. Most direct competitor to Tanzu Observability with overlapping three-pillar observability positioning and enterprise SaaS subscription model.
- New Relic: Enterprise observability platform providing APM, infrastructure monitoring, logs, and AIOps. Direct competitor targeting the same DevOps and IT operations buyer personas with consolidated full-stack observability offerings.
- Dynatrace: Enterprise-grade observability and AIOps platform combining automatic instrumentation, AI-driven root cause analysis, and full-stack monitoring. Competes head-to-head in the large-enterprise observability segment where Tanzu Observability is positioned.
- Splunk: Now part of Cisco, Splunk is a major observability and log analytics platform competing across metrics, logs, and traces. Overlapping enterprise customer base and subscription-based SaaS delivery make it a direct competitive threat.
- Elastic: Search-powered observability and security platform with Elasticsearch, Kibana, and the Elastic Observability solution. Competes in log analytics, APM, and infrastructure monitoring with similar full-stack observability positioning.
- Sumo Logic: SaaS-based log management and observability platform with metrics, traces, and AIOps capabilities. Targets similar DevOps and IT operations buyers with cloud-native monitoring offerings, now operating as a private company.
Emerging players
- Grafana Labs: Open-source-based observability stack (Grafana, Loki, Tempo, Mimir) offering metrics, logs, and traces with strong community adoption. Competes on price-performance and developer-led adoption rather than enterprise sales motion.
- Honeycomb: Observability platform focused on high-cardinality, event-based debugging for production engineering teams. Differentiates with structured events and tracing rather than traditional metrics, appealing to cloud-native engineering organizations.
- Chronosphere: Cloud-native observability platform built on M3DB that competes in high-scale metrics and cost-controlled monitoring for Kubernetes-heavy enterprises. Targets similar high-cardinality, high-throughput use cases as Tanzu Observability.
Broad incumbents
- ServiceNow Cloud Observability (Lightstep): ServiceNow's observability portfolio, built around the Lightstep acquisition, offers distributed tracing and APM. Competes indirectly as part of ServiceNow's broader enterprise workflow and AIOps platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Wavefront social profiles
Digital presenceWavefront financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wavefront leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Wavefront funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wavefront 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 Wavefront
What does Wavefront do?
Wavefront (now offered as VMware Tanzu Observability by Broadcom) is a cloud-native, SaaS-based unified observability platform that ingests, stores, visualizes, and alerts on time-series metrics, logs, and traces at millions of data points per second. It delivers Kubernetes observability, distributed tracing, AI/analytics-driven alerting, and full-stack visibility across multi-cloud environments for enterprise DevOps and IT operations teams.
Is Wavefront a public or private company?
Wavefront is a private company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Wavefront founded?
Wavefront was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wavefront based?
Wavefront is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does Wavefront make money?
One revenue line is on record: saaS Observability Platform Subscription.
Who are Wavefront's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Datadog, New Relic, Dynatrace, Splunk, Elastic and Sumo Logic. Emerging players are Grafana Labs, Honeycomb and Chronosphere. ServiceNow Cloud Observability (Lightstep) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Wavefront have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wavefront.
What industry is Wavefront in?
Wavefront's product category is Cloud Monitoring and Observability. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAJAF, Cloud-Native/Kubernetes Observability. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.