Datum
Datum is an open-source network cloud for AI, providing AI Edge routing, agent inference, edge compute, and QUIC-based connectivity to alt cloud providers, AI startups, and tech-forward enterprises through self-service and custom enterprise tiers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersNew City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Datum does
Datum Technology, Inc. is a venture-backed private company incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in New York, founded in late 2024 by Zac Smith and Jacob Smith. It operates an open-source network cloud platform purpose-built for AI workloads and the emerging class of "alt cloud" providers. The platform combines AI Edge (built on Tetrate Enterprise Envoy), Inference routing (built on Tetrate Agent Router), Compute (Unikraft-based unikernel runtimes with millisecond cold starts), and Connectivity (QUIC tunnels and an Iroh/SRv6-based Galactic VPC). Developer surface area is broad: a datumctl CLI with interactive console and AI skills, a Datum MCP server connecting AI models to the platform, Skills packages, llms.txt, desktop apps for macOS/Windows/Linux, and platform essentials (DNS, secrets, RBAC, service accounts, OpenTelemetry export, activity logs). The core is licensed AGPLv3, with four deployment options (public cloud, dedicated cloud, bring-your-own cloud, full open source).
Datum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Datum
- Legal name
- Datum Technology, Inc.
- Website
- https://datum.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Datum is an open-source network cloud for AI, providing AI Edge routing, agent inference, edge compute, and QUIC-based connectivity to alt cloud providers, AI startups, and tech-forward enterprises through self-service and custom enterprise tiers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Datum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Infrastructure / Network Cloud Platform
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services) (HDABAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud-Native Application Development (Containers/Kubernetes/Serverless) (BPAEAFAE), Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud) (HDABABAC), Cloud Identity & Access Management Infrastructure (IAM/IdP/MFA) (HDABAHAF), Serverless & PaaS Security (Function/App Service Runtime) (HDADADAL), General-Purpose Compute (VMs & Bare Metal IaaS) (HDABAAAA)
Keywords
Where Datum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Datum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Builder Tier: Free tier offering Envoy-based AI Edge and QUIC tunnels for exposing localhost to the internet. Serves as freemium acquisition channel for developers.
- Scaler Tier: $20/month plus usage-based charges. Comprehensive platform to scale production apps and accelerate revenue. Includes full platform access with usage-based metered billing.
- Provider Tier: Custom pricing designed for modern service providers. High-touch offering with dedicated support and customization options.
- Usage-based Metering: Metered usage tracking via Amberflo integration for service pricing, billing entitlements, and invoice generation. Supports pay-as-you-go consumption.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier for personal projects and experimentation |
| Hybrid | Monthly | Production scaling tier with usage-based billing |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise tier for service providers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Datum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Datum operates an open source network cloud platform built for AI workloads and alt cloud providers. It offers AI Edge (Envoy-based traffic routing), Inference (agent routing via Tetrate Agent Router), edge Compute (Unikraft-based millisecond cold-starts), and Connectivity (QUIC tunnels, deterministic private connectivity), delivered as a managed public cloud, dedicated cloud, BYO cloud, or full open source under AGPLv3. Developer tooling (datumctl CLI, Datum MCP server, Skills, llms.txt) and platform essentials (DNS, Secrets, RBAC, Service Accounts, OTel export) round out the offering.
Product overview
Datum is an Open Source Network Cloud for AI that operates a global network cloud built for AI, available via four deployment models: public cloud, dedicated cloud, bring your own (BYO) cloud, or full open source under an AGPLv3 license. The core platform consists of AI Edge (powered by Tetrate Enterprise Envoy for internet-scale AI protection and routing), Inference (powered by Tetrate Agent Router for low-latency agent routing), Compute (powered by Unikraft for millisecond cold-start edge compute), and Connectivity (deterministic private connectivity with QUIC tunnels). Developer tooling includes datumctl CLI, Datum MCP server, Skills packages, and llms.txt. Desktop applications are available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Platform essentials include Authoritative DNS, Secrets, Teams & RBAC, Service Accounts, OTel Metrics Export, and Activity Logs. Galactic VPC enables Iroh-based secure networking by key fingerprint.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI Edge Internet-scale protection and intelligence for AI workloads, powered by Tetrate Enterprise Envoy. Provides Envoy AI Gateway capabilities for multi-provider AI traffic routing through a unified, observable, globally distributed gateway for AI startups and alt cloud providers.
- Inference A low-latency, production-ready agent routing service powered by Tetrate Agent Router that enables intelligent routing of AI agent requests across providers.
- Compute Isolated, millisecond cold-start compute at the edge, powered by Unikraft. Targets AI edge augmentation use cases with Unikraft-based UFO containers and unikernels for the Datum network cloud.
- Connectivity Deterministic, high-performance and private connectivity from edge to cloud, including QUIC tunnels for exposing localhost to the internet.
- Galactic VPC Networking layer that uses Iroh as a directory service over an SRv6 network topology, enabling workloads to dial any resource within a project by IROH key fingerprint alone, with Datum Compute as the first connected runtime.
- datumctl CLI A command-line interface that lets developers integrate Datum into any stack, script, or automated pipeline. Includes 'datumctl console' providing a full interactive terminal UI with built-in AI skills.
- Datum MCP Server An open Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects any AI model or developer tool directly to Datum, enabling real-time data access and automated actions for AI agents.
- Datum Desktop Native desktop application for Mac, Windows, and Linux that enables users to quickly and safely expose local environments to the internet. Built with iroh, QUIC, and Envoy Gateway.
- Skills Pre-built, task-specific instruction packages that teach coding agents how to use Datum features; can be dropped into project context to help AI agents operate the platform.
- Authoritative DNS Globally distributed anycast DNS hosting service for Datum projects, providing reliable domain resolution at the network edge.
- Secrets Secret management service enabling creation and management of secret resources within projects on the Datum network cloud.
- Teams & RBAC Fine-grained roles at organization and project level for access control across the Datum network cloud.
- Service Accounts Non-human identities for agent and automation use cases on the Datum network cloud.
- OTel Metrics Export OpenTelemetry metrics export service that streams platform metrics to Grafana Cloud via Export Policies.
- Activity Logs Audit logs for all resource changes on the Datum network cloud, accessible via portal or CLI.
- llms.txt A standardized text file that makes Datum workflows instantly readable and accessible to any AI model or intelligent agent.
Quantifiable outcome
- Millisecond cold-start compute at the edge
Companies that use Datum
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Datum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability5 records
Feature10 records
Datum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Datum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cloudflare: Operates a global edge network offering Workers (edge compute), AI Gateway, Tunnel (localhost exposure), DNS, and security — directly overlapping with Datum's AI Edge, Compute, QUIC tunnels, and Authoritative DNS offerings for the same developer and enterprise customer base.
- ngrok: Provides secure tunnels for exposing local services to the internet, a core use case of Datum's QUIC tunnels and Datum Desktop. Both target developers and AI builders who need to bridge localhost and public networks.
- Tailscale: Delivers a programmable overlay/private network mesh similar to Datum's Connectivity and Galactic VPC. Both target developers and infrastructure teams who need private, deterministic connectivity without traditional telco networking complexity.
- Vercel: Edge developer platform with strong AI workload support (AI SDK, AI Gateway), serving the same AI startup and front-end developer segments that Datum targets through its AI Edge and developer tooling.
- Fly.io: Alt cloud provider offering globally distributed compute, networking primitives, and tunnels — directly comparable to Datum's alt-cloud positioning and edge compute value proposition.
- Render: Alt cloud platform providing managed infrastructure for modern apps and services, competing for the same developer and startup segment that Datum targets with its open network cloud.
- Railway: Alt cloud infrastructure platform focused on developer experience and simple deployment, serving an overlapping AI startup and indie developer base that Datum also targets through its self-service PLG motion.
- Porter: Alt cloud / DevOps platform positioned as a Heroku-style alternative, targeting the same modern cloud provider and SaaS builder segments that Datum courts with its open-source network cloud.
Broad incumbents
- Fastly: Established edge cloud platform with Compute@Edge, CDN, and security offerings that overlap with Datum's AI Edge and Compute products, but Fastly serves a broader enterprise portfolio rather than specializing in AI-native use cases.
- Akamai: Large incumbent edge and cloud platform (including Linode) offering compute, networking, and security at global scale, representing the established alternative that Datum's alt-cloud narrative is positioned against.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Datum social profiles
Digital presenceDatum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Datum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Datum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Datum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Datum
What does Datum do?
Datum operates an open source network cloud platform built for AI workloads and alt cloud providers. It offers AI Edge (Envoy-based traffic routing), Inference (agent routing via Tetrate Agent Router), edge Compute (Unikraft-based millisecond cold-starts), and Connectivity (QUIC tunnels, deterministic private connectivity), delivered as a managed public cloud, dedicated cloud, BYO cloud, or full open source under AGPLv3. Developer tooling (datumctl CLI, Datum MCP server, Skills, llms.txt) and platform essentials (DNS, Secrets, RBAC, Service Accounts, OTel export) round out the offering.
Is Datum a public or private company?
Datum is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Datum founded?
Datum was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Datum based?
Datum is headquartered in New City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Datum make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Builder Tier is the primary driver. The others are scaler Tier, provider Tier and usage-based Metering.
Who are Datum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cloudflare, ngrok, Tailscale, Vercel, Fly.io, Render, Railway and Porter. Broad incumbents are Fastly and Akamai.
Does Datum have an API?
Yes. Datum provides programmatic tools including an llms.txt file for standardized text accessibility to AI models, an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for connecting AI models to Datum, a CLI tool datumctl for integrating Datum into any stack, and pre-built Skills for teaching coding agents how to use Datum features. Developer documentation is at www.datum.net/docs.
What industry is Datum in?
Datum's product category is Cloud Infrastructure / Network Cloud Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAAAD, Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services), with a secondary code of BPAEAFAE, Cloud-Native Application Development (Containers/Kubernetes/Serverless). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7373.