Chef Software

What Chef Software does

Chef Software (Progress Chef) is a Seattle-based infrastructure automation vendor founded in 2008 and acquired by Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) in 2021, where it now operates as a product line within the parent's application-development and digital-experience portfolio. The company builds a Policy-as-Code and Infrastructure-as-Code platform centered on the Chef 360 Platform, which unifies Chef Infra (configuration management), Chef Automate (operational dashboarding), Chef InSpec (compliance-as-code), Chef Habitat (application packaging), Chef Courier (job orchestration), Chef Node/Edge Management, Chef Desktop, and the AIOps-powered Chef Opsmith capability on a single control plane. The platform supports Linux, Windows, macOS, and hybrid/multi-cloud environments, with native integrations into AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Jenkins, Slack, and major patch-management systems.

Chef generates revenue primarily through annual subscription licenses for the Chef 360 platform and associated components, complemented by a managed SaaS deployment option (Chef 360 SaaS / Chef SaaS), professional services and training, and cloud-marketplace distribution through AWS and Azure. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with a free-trial funnel for evaluation. GTM is hybrid: enterprise field sales targeting large organizations (with named customers including Meta, IBM, iManage, Walmart, Barclays, and Ford) paired with self-serve SaaS for mid-market and a partner channel via Progress Software's reseller and SI network. The Chef Supermarket community (4,070+ cookbooks, 80,934+ members), granted patents across Infra, InSpec, Habitat, and compliance/remediation, and a global operating footprint across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific anchor the company's competitive position in the broader deployment-automation market, which is projected to reach $15.8B by 2033 at an 18.5% CAGR.

Name

Chef Software

Legal name

Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates

Website

https://chef.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DevOps Automation Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Developer Tools & DevOps Platform Services (CI/CD, Artifacts, IaC) (HDABAAAI)

Keywords

• Infrastructure automation
• Configuration management
• Compliance automation
• DevOps platform
• Policy as code

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Subscription Licenses: Chef generates revenue through commercial software subscriptions for enterprise customers requiring Chef Automate, advanced support, and compliance features. Subscriptions include license keys for Chef Infra Client, Chef Automate, and access to the Chef 360 platform with tiered support levels.
2. SaaS Deployment Fees: Cloud-based deployment option where customers pay for Chef products delivered as SaaS, eliminating on-premises infrastructure requirements and including automatic upgrades and centralized governance.
3. Professional Services and Training: Offerings include instructor-led training, certification programs, self-paced learning paths, and professional services for implementation and customization.
4. Marketplace/Cloud Provider Licensing: Chef products available through AWS and Azure marketplaces, enabling customers to deploy using cloud provider billing and procurement systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Chef Software provides a unified DevOps automation platform (Chef 360 Platform) that combines infrastructure configuration management, compliance-as-code, job orchestration, and node management on a single control plane. Its core products — Chef Infra, Chef InSpec, Chef Habitat, Chef Automate, and the AIOps-powered Chef Opsmith — enable enterprises to enforce desired state configurations, run continuous compliance audits (CIS, DISA STIG), and orchestrate operational workflows across hybrid, multi-cloud, on-prem, and edge environments.

Product overview

Chef Software (Progress Chef) offers a unified DevOps automation platform called Chef 360 Platform that combines infrastructure configuration management, compliance automation, job orchestration, and node management. The core products include Chef Infra (configuration management), Chef Automate (enterprise dashboard/analytics), Chef InSpec (compliance as code), Chef Habitat (application packaging), and Chef Workstation (local development tools). Additional modules include Chef Desktop (endpoint management), Chef Courier (job orchestration), Chef Opsmith (AIOps capability), Chef Compliance, Chef Cloud Security, and Chef Edge Management. Chef products are available as SaaS deployment, self-managed on-premises, or via cloud marketplaces (AWS, Azure). The platform supports hybrid infrastructure, CI/CD integration, and follows Policy-as-Code principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chef 360 Platform: Unified platform that unifies infrastructure, compliance, orchestration and more on one single platform.
• Chef Infra
• Chef InSpec
• Chef Habitat
• Chef Automate
• Chef Workstation
• Chef SaaS
• Chef Courier
• Chef Desktop
• Chef Opsmith

Products and services

• Chef 360 Platform Unified enterprise platform that combines infrastructure management, compliance automation, job orchestration, and node management on a single control plane for DevOps automation across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 45% reduced annual storage costs
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• AWScoreTechnology or IntegrationChef has partnered with AWS to provide seamless integration with AWS services and marketplace availability. AWS OpsWorks users are being migrated to Chef SaaS with support from the Chef team to ensure disruption-free transition. Chef products are available in AWS Marketplace for easy procurement.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationChef provides native integration with Microsoft Azure cloud environments. Chef SaaS integrates within .Net and Azure environments for VM configuration to CIS security standards. Azure Marketplace listing enables customers to procure Chef products through Azure billing.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationChef supports Google Cloud Platform as part of its multi-cloud strategy, enabling customers to manage infrastructure and configurations across Google Cloud environments.
• Progress Software CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerChef is a product line of Progress Software Corporation, the leading provider of application development and digital experience technologies. Progress provides corporate backing, R&D investment, and go-to-market infrastructure for Chef products.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Azure Automation: Azure Automation provides native configuration management, update management, and process automation for Azure customers, competing with Chef SaaS for Azure-focused enterprise workloads and offering simpler procurement via Azure billing.
• AWS Systems Manager: AWS Systems Manager is a broad incumbent offering configuration, patching, and compliance automation natively within the AWS ecosystem, overlapping with Chef's node management and patch management capabilities for AWS-centric customers.

Direct peers

• Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform: Ansible is Chef's most direct competitor in agent-based configuration management and IT automation, sharing the same target persona of sysadmins, DevOps engineers, and SREs managing large server fleets across hybrid environments.
• HashiCorp (Terraform): HashiCorp's Terraform is the most widely adopted Infrastructure-as-Code platform, competing head-to-head with Chef Infra for declarative infrastructure provisioning across multi-cloud environments. Both target DevOps and platform engineering teams with policy-driven automation.
• CFEngine: CFEngine is one of the original configuration management engines and a direct peer to Chef Infra in policy-based infrastructure automation, with comparable enterprise compliance use cases.
• SaltStack (VMware/Broadcom): SaltStack offers event-driven automation and configuration management that competes directly with Chef Infra, particularly for large-scale data center and cloud orchestration use cases.
• Puppet: Puppet is a longstanding direct rival to Chef Infra in declarative configuration management for servers and compliance automation, with similar policy-as-code positioning and enterprise customer base.

Emerging players

• Pulumi: Pulumi is an emerging IaC platform using general-purpose programming languages, competing with Chef for infrastructure automation workloads with a developer-first orientation; smaller scale than Chef but rapidly growing mindshare.
• Octopus Deploy: Octopus Deploy focuses on deployment automation and release management that complements CI/CD pipelines, overlapping with Chef Courier's job orchestration capabilities for enterprise release workflows.

Others

• Progress Chef parent brand Progress Software: Progress Software is the parent company that acquired Chef; it provides corporate GTM, R&D, and cross-sell infrastructure that is ecosystem-relevant but not a direct product competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/chef
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=QcfN1Gqe_hs&t=43s
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/progress-software
• Xx.com/chef

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors10 records

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

M&A2 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Chef Software