StarlingX
StarlingX is an open source distributed cloud infrastructure project under the Open Infrastructure Foundation, providing an integrated edge cloud platform combining Kubernetes, OpenStack, Ceph, and Linux for telecom, industrial IoT, and ultra-low latency edge deployments by Wind River, Intel, and global telco operators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- Headquarters—
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What StarlingX does
StarlingX is an open source community project, not a conventional for-profit company, governed as a top-level project under the Open Infrastructure Foundation (formerly OpenStack Foundation). Founded in May 2018 by Wind River and Intel, it provides a complete cloud infrastructure software stack purpose-built for distributed edge computing, combining Linux, Kubernetes, OpenStack, Ceph, and QEMU/KVM into a single integrated ISO. The platform is optimized for demanding edge use cases requiring deterministic low latency, high availability, and operational simplicity across geographically distributed sites, with core services covering configuration management, fault management, host management, service management (HA), and software management.
The technology architecture enables centralized orchestration of geographically distributed edge cloud control planes via a System Controller managing subclouds over L3 networks, with each subcloud maintaining a fully synchronized Kubernetes and containerized OpenStack control plane. Differentiating features include Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for sub-microsecond clock accuracy, OVS-DPDK for high-throughput low-latency networking, TPM and UEFI Secure Boot for tamper protection, IPsec pod-to-pod encryption, and System Snapshot/Restore capabilities on All-in-One Simplex deployments. StarlingX supports hybrid workloads with both VMs and containers as first-class citizens.
The business model is open source under Apache 2.0 with no direct revenue generated by the project itself. Commercial value is captured by ecosystem participants, primarily Wind River through the Wind River Cloud Platform commercial distribution with enterprise support and indemnification, plus integration and deployment services from partners such as 99Cloud, Encora, and CENGN. The primary customer segments are telecommunications operators (T-Systems, Verizon, Vodafone, KDDI, China Unicom, China Mobile) deploying 5G, O-RAN, and MEC infrastructure, with secondary expansion into industrial manufacturing, transportation, video delivery, financial services, and agriculture. Go-to-market is community-led through OpenInfra events, regional meetups, mailing lists, Matrix chat, and weekly community calls.
StarlingX firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- StarlingX
- Legal name
- StarlingX
- Website
- https://starlingx.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- StarlingX is an open source distributed cloud infrastructure project under the Open Infrastructure Foundation, providing an integrated edge cloud platform combining Kubernetes, OpenStack, Ceph, and Linux for telecom, industrial IoT, and ultra-low latency edge deployments by Wind River, Intel, and global telco operators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
StarlingX industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Edge Cloud Infrastructure Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Edge Compute Platforms (Serverless Edge, Edge Functions) (HDABAGAB)
Keywords
StarlingX business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Open Source Software Distribution: StarlingX is freely available as open source software under the Apache 2.0 license. The project itself does not generate direct revenue. Commercial value is created through ecosystem participants who offer commercial distributions, support services, and integrated products built on StarlingX.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels13 records
StarlingX product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StarlingX is a complete, integrated cloud infrastructure software stack for distributed edge computing that combines Linux, Ceph, OpenStack, Kubernetes, and QEMU/KVM into a single ISO. It provides deterministic low latency, high availability, lifecycle management, and security hardening for edge and telecom workloads, and enables centralized orchestration of geographically distributed edge subclouds from a central cloud. The platform is released under the Apache 2.0 open source license and is deployed in production by major telecom operators and industrial organizations.
Product overview
StarlingX is a fully integrated open source cloud infrastructure software platform designed specifically for distributed edge computing. The platform combines OpenStack, Kubernetes, Ceph, and QEMU/KVM into a unified solution that supports VMs, containers, and bare metal workloads. The platform includes core service modules: Configuration Management for node inventory and auto-discovery, Fault Management for alarms and event logging, Host Management for lifecycle and recovery via REST API, Service Management for HA redundancy models, and Software Management for rolling upgrades. The Distributed Cloud Architecture enables central management of geographically distributed subclouds. A commercial derivative, Wind River Cloud Platform, is built on StarlingX. The platform is optimized for edge, telecom, industrial IoT, and video delivery use cases requiring deterministic low latency, high availability, security, and small footprint deployments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- StarlingX Platform Complete open source cloud infrastructure software stack that combines Linux, Ceph, OpenStack, Kubernetes, and QEMU/KVM into a single integrated ISO for distributed edge computing. Delivers VMs, containers, and bare metal as first-class workloads with deterministic low latency, high availability, security hardening, and lifecycle management. Targets telecom, industrial IoT, video delivery, transportation, financial services, and agriculture edge use cases.
- Wind River Cloud Platform Commercial distribution of StarlingX offered by Wind River that bundles the StarlingX open source stack with enterprise-grade support, professional services, and indemnification for production distributed edge cloud deployments.
Quantifiable outcome
- Deployable from single server edge nodes to thousands of distributed nodes in a single managed system
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use StarlingX
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
StarlingX technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature15 records
StarlingX partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and key user.
- Wind RivercoreWind River originally co-founded and launched the StarlingX project alongside Intel in May 2018 and remains a key contributor to the project. Wind River hosts the official project mirror and offers Wind River Cloud Platform as a commercial distribution based on StarlingX.
- IntelcoreIntel originally co-founded and launched the StarlingX project alongside Wind River in May 2018. Intel contributes significantly to development, provides hardware for testing, and has team members in project leadership roles including TSC representation.
- 99CloudcoreActive contributor to the StarlingX project, 99Cloud participates in development, organizes community meetups in China, and has deployed StarlingX for customer implementations including smart agriculture use cases.
- EncoracoreKey contributor to the StarlingX project with active participation in development activities and community events.
- CENGNsupportingSince mid-2018, CENGN has been hosting build infrastructure and providing daily public builds of StarlingX available to the community via their mirror. CENGN is a non-profit organization enabling small and medium enterprises and government agencies in Canada.
- Open Infrastructure FoundationcoreThe Open Infrastructure Foundation (formerly OpenStack Foundation) supports and sponsors the StarlingX project as a top-level project. The foundation provides infrastructure, event organization, governance support, and community coordination.
- China Unicomkey userMajor Chinese telecom operator using StarlingX for industrial manufacturing edge cloud deployments and MEC platform implementations. Presented case studies at community meetups and represents telecom operator perspective in community discussions.
- FiberHomekey userChinese technology company with edge computing solutions (FitEC) built on StarlingX. Active community contributor with representation on the StarlingX Technical Steering Committee since 2018.
- China Mobilekey userMajor Chinese mobile operator working with StarlingX for edge cloud implementations aligned with ETSI MEC framework. Participated in community discussions on heterogeneous edge cloud management requirements.
- China UnionPaykey userChinese financial services company that conducted proof-of-concept deployment of StarlingX for contactless payment systems at EV charging stations, leveraging hardened security features including TPM framework and Intel SGX.
- Kata ContainerssupportingAnother Open Infrastructure Foundation project providing container runtime that runs containers inside lightweight VMs for enhanced security. StarlingX 4.0 and later integrate Kata Containers as an optional container runtime for additional workload isolation.
- ACRN HypervisorsupportingOpen source flexible lightweight reference hypervisor suitable for IoT and embedded device solutions. Demo showcases have demonstrated ACRN running on StarlingX for edge workload integration with different guest operating systems.
- OpenStack (Upstream Projects)coreStarlingX integrates and enhances OpenStack services including Nova, Neutron, Horizon, Keystone, and Glance. Community contributors work upstream to merge StarlingX enhancements back into OpenStack core projects.
- Kubernetes (CNCF)coreStarlingX integrates Kubernetes as the container orchestration layer, with Calico as primary CNI, Multus for multi-CNI support, and SRIOV for high-performance networking. Community has discussed CNCF Kubernetes certification.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
StarlingX competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
StarlingX social profiles
Digital presenceStarlingX financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
StarlingX leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
StarlingX funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
StarlingX 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 StarlingX
What does StarlingX do?
StarlingX is a complete, integrated cloud infrastructure software stack for distributed edge computing that combines Linux, Ceph, OpenStack, Kubernetes, and QEMU/KVM into a single ISO. It provides deterministic low latency, high availability, lifecycle management, and security hardening for edge and telecom workloads, and enables centralized orchestration of geographically distributed edge subclouds from a central cloud. The platform is released under the Apache 2.0 open source license and is deployed in production by major telecom operators and industrial organizations.
Is StarlingX a public or private company?
StarlingX is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was StarlingX founded?
StarlingX was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
How does StarlingX make money?
One revenue line is on record: open Source Software Distribution.
Does StarlingX have an API?
Yes. The Host Management service provides lifecycle management functionality to manage host machines via a REST API interface. This vendor-neutral tool detects host failures and initiates automatic recovery by providing monitoring and alarming for cluster connectivity, critical process failures, resource utilization thresholds and H/W faults. Developer documentation is at docs.starlingx.io.
What industry is StarlingX in?
StarlingX's product category is Edge Cloud Infrastructure Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAGAB, Edge Compute Platforms (Serverless Edge, Edge Functions). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.