What QBO Cloud does

QBO Cloud Inc. is a privately held Delaware corporation founded in 2023 and headquartered at 333 Bush Street, San Francisco. The company builds a container-native cloud platform that transforms bare-metal servers into a complete AI cloud without virtualization, using a Docker-in-Docker (DinD) architecture in which Kubernetes nodes run as containers directly on metal. Its portfolio comprises the QBO Cloud Platform (unified control plane), QBO Kubernetes Engine (QKE), QBO Container Engine (QCE), and qbOS—the Linux-based operating system deployed on QBO appliances or customer-owned hardware. An ORIGIN-and-LINK deployment model supports distributed, edge, and air-gapped topologies, with full AMD64 and ARM64 support.

Name

QBO Cloud

Legal name

QBO Cloud Inc.

Website

https://qbo.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

QBO Cloud is a San Francisco-based cloud infrastructure company founded in 2023 that delivers container-native, bare-metal Kubernetes and compute platforms—QKE, QCE, and qbOS—for enterprise AI, defense, GPU cloud builders, and edge deployments, eliminating hypervisor overhead via a Docker-in-Docker architecture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Facilities Management Services (541513)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Container Platforms & Orchestration (Kubernetes) (HDABADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hybrid Cloud Compute & Virtualization Stack (HCI/VMs/Kubernetes) (HDABAMAF), Managed Container Platforms (Kubernetes & Container PaaS) (HDABAAAB), Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud) (HDABABAC), Cloud Security for Containers & Kubernetes (KSPM/Kubernetes Security) (HDABAHAO)

Keywords

• Bare metal cloud
• Kubernetes engine
• GPU infrastructure
• Sovereign cloud platform
• Container orchestration

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. QBO Units Platform Licensing: Standardized annual platform license based on underlying hardware profile (CPU, GPU, RAM, disk, network). QBO Units represent committed platform capacity for the contracted term. For on-prem deployments, minimum 25,000 units/year. For QBO-managed cloud environments, units remain valid while account is active. Fixed pricing per hardware profile; no usage-based metering.
2. GPU and CPU Appliances: Pre-configured hardware appliances (QBO-GPU-N/L/M/H and QBO-CPU-N/L/M/H) sold as full-stack solutions combining QBO hardware and qbOS. Zero-config, ready-to-run out of the box, engineered for peak CPU and GPU AI performance.
3. qbOS Software License: qbOS operating system license for customers deploying on their own bare-metal hardware. Customers bring their own servers; QBO provides the software platform layer. Units-based annual licensing with 25,000 unit minimum for on-prem.
4. QBO Cloud (Managed Service): Fully managed cloud service providing access to QKE and QCE with bare-metal performance. Includes multi-cluster management, SSL, Google OAuth2, cloud load balancer, IP network management, service accounts, and Kubernetes API integration. Billed via QBO Units tied to hardware profile consumed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

QBO Cloud is a container-native cloud computing platform that transforms bare-metal servers into a complete AI cloud environment without virtualization overhead. Its core offerings are the QBO Kubernetes Engine (QKE), which deploys production-ready Kubernetes clusters in approximately 60 seconds using a Kubernetes-in-Docker (KinD) architecture, and the QBO Container Engine (QCE), which deploys compute instances in sub-second via Docker-in-Docker (DinD). The platform is delivered through pre-configured GPU and CPU appliances, as qbOS software on customer hardware, or as a fully managed QBO Cloud service, with a unified AsyncAPI over WebSockets for real-time multi-cluster management and an AI-native control plane built on MCP.

Product overview

QBO Cloud is an AI-operated cloud infrastructure platform that transforms bare metal into a complete sovereign cloud platform. The portfolio consists of the QBO Cloud Platform (the unified control plane), two compute engines — QBO Kubernetes Engine (QKE) and QBO Container Engine (QCE) — and qbOS (the operating system). QKE manages containerized Kubernetes nodes (KinD) on bare metal, while QCE handles standalone compute instances via Docker-in-Docker (DinD). Hardware is delivered either as pre-configured GPU or CPU appliances (QBO-GPU-N/L/M/H and QBO-CPU-N/L/M series) or as deployable software (qbOS or container) on customer hardware. The platform is deployed via an ORIGIN-and-LINK distributed architecture, where ORIGIN manages the cloud and LINK nodes connect to it. The QBO VSCode Extension provides developer tooling. Both a free Community Edition (QKE CE) and a cloud-hosted Cloud Edition are available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QBO Kubernetes Engine (QKE): QBO's Kubernetes service that enables users to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications using Kubernetes with bare metal performance using Docker-in-Docker (DinD) deployments.
• QBO Container Engine (QCE)
• qbOS

Products and services

• QBO Cloud Platform A self-contained, prompt-driven cloud platform that transforms bare metal into a complete cloud environment, combining Kubernetes, containers, infrastructure services, and AI-native management into a single unified system. Targeted at enterprises, government/defense, and GPU cloud builders.
• QBO Kubernetes Engine (QKE) A Kubernetes service that deploys Kubernetes-in-Docker (KinD) containers as Kubernetes nodes, delivering bare-metal performance for AI/ML and compute-intensive workloads without virtualization overhead. Supports multi-cluster management, cluster scaling, persistent storage, CNI kindnet, NVIDIA GPU Operator, and custom Kind image support.
• QBO Container Engine (QCE) A compute instance service using Docker-in-Docker (DinD) for sub-second deployment of containers directly on bare metal with full CPU/GPU/disk/network access and no hypervisor or virtual machines. Enables fast scaling of AI workloads across any environment.
• qbOS The Linux-based operating system shipped with QBO appliances or deployable on customer hardware. Provides unified AI fabric across diverse hardware, zero-config setup, full infrastructure isolation for air-gapped environments, and annual QBO Units licensing (minimum 25,000 units/year for on-prem).
• QBO-GPU-N (G1n AI Station) Entry-level GPU appliance featuring NVIDIA GB10 Blackwell GPU, 128GB RAM, 2TB SSD, running DGX OS on ARM64. Pre-configured full-stack hardware + qbOS solution engineered for AI workloads.
• QBO-GPU-L, M, H Appliance Series Large, Mid, and High-tier GPU appliances supporting 1-2 to 8 NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell 96GB GPUs, 32-192 core CPUs, 256GB to 1.5TB ECC RAM, and 8TB to 64TB NVMe storage. Zero-config setup, ready to run out of the box.
• QBO-CPU-N, L, M, H Appliance Series CPU-bound appliances from entry-level (Intel Core i9-14900K, 64GB DDR5, 8TB NVMe, 10GbE) through Large (16-24 core, 128GB ECC), Mid (48-64 core, 512GB ECC), to High (128-192 core, 1.5TB ECC) configurations. Engineered for peak CPU AI performance.
• QBO VSCode Extension A Visual Studio Code extension enabling direct Remote SSH access to GPU-powered QBO infrastructure and Kubernetes cluster shell access via kubectl, with live host switching over WebSocket. Targets developers working on AI workloads.
• QKE Community Edition (QKE CE) Free community edition of QBO Kubernetes Engine compatible with Linux or Windows (WSL2), enabling local execution for developers and evaluation.
• QKE Cloud Edition Fully managed cloud solution for QBO Kubernetes Engine providing GPU, CPU, and disk resource access with cloud-native management, accessible via console.cloud.qbo.io with Google OAuth2 authentication and no minimum QBO Units.
• QBO + MinIO Enterprise Object Storage Enterprise-grade object storage solution combining QBO's container-native bare-metal platform with MinIO's AIStor (S3-compatible object storage), optimized for AI and analytics workloads. Available through both companies' partner channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to hyperscale cloud (OpExx case study)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability2 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MinIOcoreTechnology or Integration · 19 February 2026Collaboration to deliver enterprise-grade object storage solutions for AI and analytics workloads. The joint solution enables customers to deploy and manage MinIO's AIStor on QBO Cloud's platform, combining scalable S3-compatible object storage with enterprise flexibility and cost efficiency. The combined offering is available through both companies' partner channels.
• Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)coreOthersQBO is a CNCF Silver Member and maintains Kubernetes conformance via Sonobuoy testing. QKE aligns with CNCF cloud-native computing standards.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNVIDIA GPU integration through QBO Kubernetes Engine. QBO supports NVIDIA GPU Operator, CUDA workloads, and direct GPU hardware access on bare metal. NVIDIA GB10 Blackwell GPUs available in QBO-GPU-N appliance.
• IONOScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIONOS provides bare-metal cloud infrastructure (dedicated servers) while QBO provides the orchestration and PaaS layer. Case study demonstrates SaaS delivery on IONOS+QBO achieving 40% TCO reduction vs hyperscale clouds.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DigitalOcean: DigitalOcean provides developer-friendly cloud, dedicated droplets, and managed Kubernetes. It is a broader incumbent competing for the same mid-market SaaS and developer customer base that QBO targets via IONOS partnerships.
• OVHcloud: OVHcloud provides dedicated servers, private cloud, and bare-metal cloud globally. It is a broad incumbent in the same bare-metal and sovereign-cloud category that QBO is targeting with qbOS on customer hardware.
• Vultr: Vultr offers bare-metal cloud, GPU instances, and Kubernetes hosting globally at competitive price points. It competes in the same SMB/enterprise cloud-bare-metal segment with broader scale and a longer operating history than QBO.
• Hetzner: Hetzner offers dedicated bare-metal servers and cloud hosting at low price points across European and US data centers. Comparable to QBO on bare-metal cost-efficiency narrative, though without QBO's AI/cloud-native positioning.

Direct peers

• Mirantis: Mirantis delivers Kubernetes and container platforms (including Kubernetes Engine and cloud-native stack) for on-prem and air-gapped deployments. Comparable to QBO on Kubernetes platform management for enterprise and sovereign use cases.
• CoreWeave: CoreWeave is a specialized GPU cloud provider built for AI workloads on bare-metal NVIDIA hardware. It directly competes with QBO's value proposition of AI-optimized infrastructure without hyperscaler overhead, and shares the same enterprise AI customer base.
• IONOS: IONOS provides dedicated bare-metal servers and cloud infrastructure, and is a strategic channel partner of QBO. As both a partner and a potential competitor offering bare-metal cloud, it is materially comparable.
• Platform9: Platform9 offers managed Kubernetes across bare-metal, public cloud, and edge environments. It overlaps directly with QBO's QKE managed Kubernetes engine and similar hybrid/on-prem positioning.
• Rancher (SUSE): SUSE Rancher is a Kubernetes management platform supporting multi-cluster, on-prem, and edge deployments. It competes with QBO's QKE in the Kubernetes-on-bare-metal and multi-cluster management category.
• Lambda Labs: Lambda provides GPU cloud and GPU workstations aimed at AI/ML practitioners, with both cloud and on-prem hardware offerings. It is highly comparable to QBO's GPU appliance and managed cloud strategy for AI workloads.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/alexeadem
• Xx.com/qbo_cloud
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qbo-cloud

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 QBO Cloud