Envoy Proxy
Envoy Proxy is a CNCF graduated open-source edge and service proxy, originally built at Lyft, that provides high-performance C++ networking, load balancing, and L7 observability for cloud-native microservices, used by 35+ major tech companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersMilpitas, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Envoy Proxy does
Envoy Proxy is an open-source edge and service proxy originally developed at Lyft in 2016 and donated to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in 2017, graduating from incubation in 2020. Built as a high-performance C++ distributed proxy, Envoy abstracts networking for cloud-native applications by running alongside any application language or framework and providing a platform-agnostic communication bus. Its core features include out-of-process architecture with a small memory footprint, first-class HTTP/2 and gRPC support, advanced load balancing (automatic retries, circuit breaking, global rate limiting, request shadowing, zone-local load balancing), dynamic configuration via xDS APIs (CDS, LDS, RDS, EDS, SDS), and deep L7 observability including distributed tracing and wire-level visibility into protocols such as MongoDB and DynamoDB.
The product portfolio has expanded beyond the core proxy to include Envoy Gateway, a Kubernetes-native API Gateway control plane launched in 2022 that uses the standard Kubernetes Gateway API and custom CRDs (BackendTrafficPolicy, ClientTrafficPolicy, SecurityPolicy) to manage Envoy as a data plane, and Envoy Mobile, which extends the same networking primitives to iOS and Android. The project is distributed via Docker Hub, APT repositories, Homebrew, GitHub Releases, and Helm charts, with current stable releases at Envoy v1.38.3 and Envoy Gateway v1.8.
The entity itself is a non-profit open-source project under CNCF/The Linux Foundation and generates no direct revenue. The core software is freely distributed under Apache License 2.0. Commercial support, training, and managed services are provided by third-party vendors (e.g., Tetrate) and official maintainer-led training programs. Primary users are large technology companies running distributed microservices architectures, including hyperscalers (Google, AWS, Microsoft), platform companies (Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Stripe, Salesforce, Databricks, Pinterest, Twilio), and a broader set of 35+ enterprises spanning e-commerce, fintech, communications, and streaming verticals.
Envoy Proxy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Envoy Proxy
- Legal name
- Envoy Proxy Project
- Website
- https://envoyproxy.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Envoy Proxy is a CNCF graduated open-source edge and service proxy, originally built at Lyft, that provides high-performance C++ networking, load balancing, and L7 observability for cloud-native microservices, used by 35+ major tech companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Envoy Proxy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Service Mesh / Cloud Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Business Services, Nec (7389)
- akta.pro primary industry
- API Management & Integration for Private Cloud Control Planes (HDABABAM)
Keywords
Where Envoy Proxy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milpitas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Envoy Proxy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Open Source Distribution: Envoy Proxy core is open source under Apache License 2.0 and is freely available for download and use. Revenue is not directly generated from the open source core software.
- Enterprise Support & Services (Third-party): Third-party companies like Tetrate offer commercial support, training, and managed services for Envoy Proxy deployments. Envoy Gateway maintainers provide official training programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Open source core - free download and use |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Envoy Proxy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Envoy Proxy is an open-source, high-performance C++ edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. It runs alongside any application language or framework to abstract the network, providing HTTP/2 and gRPC support, advanced load balancing, and deep L7 observability. The project functions as both a standalone proxy and a universal data plane for large microservice service mesh architectures.
Product overview
Envoy Proxy is an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications, originally built at Lyft and now a CNCF graduated project. The product portfolio includes the core Envoy Proxy (a high-performance C++ distributed proxy), Envoy Gateway (a Kubernetes-native API Gateway control plane built on Envoy Proxy), and the xDS API suite for dynamic configuration management. Envoy Proxy provides L7 traffic management, HTTP/2 and gRPC support, advanced load balancing, and deep observability. Envoy Gateway extends this with Kubernetes-native configuration using the Gateway API standard, offering custom CRDs including BackendTrafficPolicy, ClientTrafficPolicy, SecurityPolicy, and EnvoyPatchPolicy for comprehensive traffic and security management. The Envoy ecosystem also includes Envoy Mobile for mobile platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Envoy Proxy Open-source high-performance C++ edge and service proxy for cloud-native applications, supporting HTTP/2, gRPC, advanced load balancing, and deep L7 observability. Functions as both a standalone proxy and a universal data plane for microservice service mesh architectures, designed for organizations running distributed microservices.
- Envoy Gateway Open-source Kubernetes-native API Gateway and reverse proxy control plane that simplifies deploying Envoy Proxy as a data plane, using standard Kubernetes Gateway API resources and custom CRDs for traffic and security policy management. Targeted at platform engineering teams deploying Envoy on Kubernetes.
- Envoy Mobile Mobile networking library that extends Envoy Proxy capabilities to iOS and Android applications, part of the broader Envoy ecosystem for client-side networking.
Quantifiable outcome
- CNCF graduated project status - indicates production maturity and stability
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Envoy Proxy
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Envoy Proxy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature10 records
Envoy Proxy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered founder and core.
- LyftfounderLyft created Envoy Proxy and open sourced it in 2016. Lyft engineers (including Matt Klein) developed Envoy to solve internal microservices networking challenges before contributing it to the CNCF. Lyft remains a key contributor and early adopter.
- Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)coreCNCF hosts and governs Envoy Proxy as a graduated project. The foundation provides governance, trademark management, event sponsorship (KubeCon), and ecosystem integration support.
- The Linux FoundationcoreThe Linux Foundation provides trademark governance, legal support, and organizational oversight for the Envoy project through CNCF membership.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Envoy Proxy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Traefik: Traefik is a cloud-native edge router and ingress controller widely deployed on Kubernetes. It competes with Envoy Gateway for HTTP/HTTPS ingress and shares a developer-led open source GTM motion.
- HAProxy: HAProxy is one of the canonical open-source load balancers and proxies whose design lessons directly informed Envoy. It competes head-to-head in ingress, L7 routing, and observability use cases.
- NGINX: NGINX is a high-performance HTTP server, reverse proxy, and load balancer and the historical foundation Envoy was built to improve upon. Both are C-based L7 proxies serving web traffic and microservices ingress; NGINX is now owned by F5.
- Kong Gateway: Kong is an open-core API gateway built on NGINX that competes directly with Envoy Gateway for Kubernetes ingress, API management, and policy enforcement workloads.
Others
- Tetrate: Tetrate is a commercial sponsor and primary maintainer of Envoy and Istio, offering enterprise support, training, and Service Bridge. It is an ecosystem enabler rather than a substitute for the open source proxy itself.
Emerging players
- Caddy: Caddy is a modern Go-based web server with automatic HTTPS and reverse proxy capabilities that competes with Envoy for developer-friendly HTTPS ingress and edge proxying.
- Linkerd: Linkerd is a CNCF graduated service mesh that uses its own Rust-based proxy (linkerd2-proxy) rather than Envoy. It competes for the same microservices and Kubernetes platform-engineering buyer as Envoy and Envoy Gateway.
- Apache APISIX: Apache APISIX is a cloud-native API gateway that competes with Envoy Gateway for Kubernetes and multi-cloud ingress use cases, with comparable plugin ecosystems and performance claims.
- Cilium: Cilium (Isovalent/CNCF) provides eBPF-based networking, security, and service mesh for Kubernetes, increasingly competing with Envoy at the L4/L7 ingress layer.
- Istio: Istio is a CNCF service mesh that historically used Envoy as its default sidecar data plane. It is a partial peer: complementary at the data plane layer but a competitor at the control plane layer (Ambient, istiod).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Envoy Proxy social profiles
Digital presenceEnvoy Proxy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Envoy Proxy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Envoy Proxy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Envoy Proxy 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 Envoy Proxy
What does Envoy Proxy do?
Envoy Proxy is an open-source, high-performance C++ edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. It runs alongside any application language or framework to abstract the network, providing HTTP/2 and gRPC support, advanced load balancing, and deep L7 observability. The project functions as both a standalone proxy and a universal data plane for large microservice service mesh architectures.
Is Envoy Proxy a public or private company?
Envoy Proxy is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Envoy Proxy founded?
Envoy Proxy was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Envoy Proxy based?
Envoy Proxy is headquartered in Milpitas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Envoy Proxy make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open Source Distribution is the primary driver. The others are enterprise Support & Services (Third-party).
Who are Envoy Proxy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Traefik, HAProxy, NGINX and Kong Gateway. Tetrate is listed as an others. Emerging players are Caddy, Linkerd, Apache APISIX, Cilium and Istio.
Does Envoy Proxy have an API?
Yes. Envoy provides robust APIs for dynamically managing its configuration, including the xDS (Discovery Services) API which includes CDS (Cluster Discovery Service), LDS (Listener Discovery Service), RDS (Route Discovery Service), EDS (Endpoint Discovery Service), and SDS (Secret Discovery Service). Envoy supports both REST and gRPC protocols for API communication. The v3 Envoy API is the current stable API version. The xDS protocol enables dynamic configuration of Envoy proxies, allowing for real-time updates to clusters, listeners, routes, and endpoints without restart. Developer documentation is at www.envoyproxy.io/docs/envoy/latest/api/api.
What industry is Envoy Proxy in?
Envoy Proxy's product category is Service Mesh / Cloud Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABABAM, API Management & Integration for Private Cloud Control Planes. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7389.