Keptn
Keptn is a CNCF incubating open-source project that provides Kubernetes-native deployment observability, DORA metrics, SLO-based quality gates, and multi-source metrics aggregation for DevOps, SRE, and Kubernetes platform teams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersLinz, Austria
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Keptn does
Keptn is an open-source Cloud Native Computing Foundation incubating project that provides cloud-native application delivery, deployment observability, and release lifecycle automation for Kubernetes workloads. Its platform is organized around Kubernetes-native primitives: the Lifecycle Operator orchestrates pre- and post-deployment tasks, evaluations, multi-stage promotion, and OpenTelemetry traces; the Metrics Operator aggregates SLIs from heterogeneous data providers (Prometheus, Dynatrace, Datadog, Thanos, Cortex, AWS, Azure, GCP, Elastic) and exposes them through the Kubernetes Custom Metrics API for consumption by HPA, KEDA, Argo Rollouts, and Argo Workflows; the Certificate Manager handles webhook TLS; and Scheduling Gates gate pod readiness on pre-deployment outcomes. User-facing capabilities include automated DORA metrics generation (deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, time to restore), SLO/SLI-based deployment validation with weighted scoring (KeptnAnalysis, evolved from v1 Quality Gates), Auto App Discovery that aggregates workloads into KeptnApp resources via annotations, and integrations with GitOps tools (ArgoCD, Flux, GitLab, kubectl). It targets DevOps/SRE teams and Kubernetes platform engineering groups who need tool-agnostic deployment guardrails, observability across multi-stage delivery, and unified metric access without per-tool plugins.
Keptn's business model is non-commercial: the core project is distributed under open-source licensing with no published pricing, no commercial SKU, and no parent company. Revenue is not disclosed and is characterized in the source material as unavailable because the project is community-maintained under CNCF governance; trademarks are held by The Linux Foundation. Go-to-market is community-led and API-first, relying on documentation at keptn.sh, GitHub (keptn/lifecycle-toolkit), the Keptn Online User Group on YouTube, KubeCon presentations (e.g., KubeCon EU 2024 Lightning Talk), and CNCF ecosystem visibility rather than traditional sales or marketing channels. Distribution is self-serve via a Helm umbrella chart, an ArgoCD Application definition, and the Glasskube package manager. The project retains 51–100 employees across its contributor base, is headquartered in Linz, Austria (founded 2018), and has reorganized its branding twice — from Keptn Lifecycle Toolkit to Keptn in August 2023, and from v1 to a v2 Release Candidate in March 2024.
Keptn firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Keptn
- Legal name
- Keptn
- Website
- https://keptn.sh
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Keptn is a CNCF incubating open-source project that provides Kubernetes-native deployment observability, DORA metrics, SLO-based quality gates, and multi-source metrics aggregation for DevOps, SRE, and Kubernetes platform teams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Keptn industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud-native application delivery platform
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Container & Kubernetes Application Security (HDADACAE)
Keywords
Where Keptn is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Linz
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Keptn business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Open Source / Community: Keptn is an open-source project under the CNCF incubating program. There is no commercial revenue model for the core open-source product. The project is maintained by the community and contributors.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Keptn product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Keptn is an open-source cloud-native application delivery platform that provides deployment observability, multi-source metrics aggregation, and release lifecycle automation for Kubernetes workloads. It auto-generates DORA metrics, orchestrates pre/post-deployment tasks, and validates deployments against SLOs, wrapping existing GitOps tools such as ArgoCD and Flux without replacing them.
Product overview
Keptn is a cloud-native application delivery platform organized as a unified product with modular components. The core Keptn platform provides deployment observability, metrics aggregation, and release lifecycle management for Kubernetes. Core components include: Keptn Lifecycle Operator for orchestrating deployment events and executing pre/post-deployment tasks; Keptn Metrics Operator for unified multi-source metrics (from Prometheus, Dynatrace, Datadog, AWS, Azure, GCP); Keptn Certificate Manager for webhook TLS certificates; and Keptn Scheduling Gates for pod readiness control. Key CRD sub-products include KeptnApp (aggregates workloads), KeptnMetric (metric queries), KeptnTask (executable deployment tasks), and Keptn Analysis (SLO-based quality gates). The platform integrates with GitOps tools (ArgoCD, Flux), observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Jaeger, OpenTelemetry), and autoscaling systems (HPA, KEDA). Installation is via Helm umbrella chart, with optional Glasskube package manager.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Keptn (Core Platform) Cloud-native application delivery platform for Kubernetes that unifies deployment observability, metrics management, and release lifecycle automation. Provides DORA metrics, pre/post-deployment checks, and SLO-based quality gates across GitOps deployment tools for DevOps and platform engineering teams.
- Keptn Lifecycle Operator
Quantifiable outcome
- Automated DORA metrics generation without CI/CD pipeline modifications
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Keptn
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Keptn technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration23 records
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
Keptn partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)coreKeptn is an incubating project under the CNCF. The foundation provides governance, marketing support, and ecosystem integration for the project. CNCF association provides credibility and visibility within the cloud-native community.
- GlasskubeminorKeptn is officially available via the Glasskube package manager for Kubernetes. Glasskube provides simplified installation and automatic upgrade management for Keptn deployments.
- ArgoCDcoreKeptn integrates with ArgoCD for GitOps-native deployment management. Users can deploy Keptn via ArgoCD and use Keptn for application health checks and observability alongside ArgoCD deployments.
- FluxcoreKeptn provides use case documentation for integrating with Flux GitOps toolkit, enabling combined deployment and observability workflows.
- Prometheus / kube-prometheus-stackcoreKeptn integrates with Prometheus for storing DORA metrics. The metrics operator can fetch from Prometheus instances and expose metrics via the Kubernetes Custom Metrics API.
- DynatracecoreKeptn Metrics Operator supports Dynatrace as a data provider, allowing users to query Dynatrace metrics for use in evaluations and analyses.
- DatadogcoreKeptn Metrics Operator supports Datadog as a data provider, enabling users to pull metrics from Datadog monitoring platform.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Keptn competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Argo Workflows: Kubernetes-native workflow engine. Keptn integrates with Argo Workflows via Executor Plugins to run KeptnTask and Keptn Analysis inside pipelines, making them partially overlapping in orchestration capability.
Direct peers
- ArgoCD: CNCF-incubating GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Keptn is designed to complement rather than replace ArgoCD by adding pre/post-deployment checks, DORA metrics, and quality gates on top of ArgoCD-managed workloads.
- Flux: CNCF-graduated GitOps toolkit for Kubernetes. Keptn publishes first-party integration guides with Flux, layering lifecycle orchestration, SLO analysis, and DORA metrics on top of Flux-managed applications.
- Spinnaker: Open-source multi-cloud continuous delivery platform originally from Netflix. Both target deployment automation and lifecycle management for cloud-native applications, though Spinnaker is broader in scope and legacy in architecture.
- Flagger: CNCF project for progressive delivery on Kubernetes that uses metrics analysis to automate canary releases. Flagger and Keptn directly compete in the deployment quality-gate space, with Flagger tied to Flux and Keptn tool-agnostic.
- Argo Rollouts: Progressive delivery controller for Kubernetes supporting canary, blue-green, and analysis-based rollouts. Both projects overlap in SLO-driven deployment validation, and Keptn Metrics is explicitly designed to feed Argo Rollouts analyses.
- Jenkins X: Cloud-native CI/CD for Kubernetes built around Tekton and GitOps. It addresses overlapping concerns around Kubernetes-native application delivery, observability, and lifecycle automation.
- Harness: Commercial CI/CD and feature management platform with built-in deployment verification, SLO-based quality gates, and DORA metrics. It competes directly with Keptn's core value proposition but as a fully managed SaaS offering.
Broad incumbents
- Datadog: Cloud monitoring and observability platform that also offers deployment tracking, SLO management, and watchdogs. As a Keptn metrics data provider, it competes in the deployment-validation space from a broader observability portfolio.
- Dynatrace: Enterprise observability and AIOps platform with native SLO/SLI management and release validation capabilities. It is both a Keptn integration partner and a competing supplier of automated deployment quality analytics.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Keptn social profiles
Digital presenceKeptn financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Keptn leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Keptn funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Keptn 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 Keptn
What does Keptn do?
Keptn is an open-source cloud-native application delivery platform that provides deployment observability, multi-source metrics aggregation, and release lifecycle automation for Kubernetes workloads. It auto-generates DORA metrics, orchestrates pre/post-deployment tasks, and validates deployments against SLOs, wrapping existing GitOps tools such as ArgoCD and Flux without replacing them.
Is Keptn a public or private company?
Keptn is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Keptn founded?
Keptn was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Keptn based?
Keptn is headquartered in Linz, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Keptn make money?
One revenue line is on record: open Source / Community.
Who are Keptn's main competitors?
Argo Workflows is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are ArgoCD, Flux, Spinnaker, Flagger, Argo Rollouts, Jenkins X and Harness. Broad incumbents are Datadog and Dynatrace.
Does Keptn have an API?
Yes. Keptn provides REST APIs for Lifecycle management and Metrics operations with multiple API versions (v1alpha1, v1alpha2, v1alpha3, v1alpha4, v1beta1, v1). The Lifecycle API manages KeptnApp, KeptnWorkload, and related lifecycle resources. The Metrics API handles KeptnMetric and KeptnMetricsProvider resources. The Options API provides KeptnConfig configuration. APIs are consumed by the Kubernetes control plane and can be accessed via kubectl and direct HTTP requests. Developer documentation is at keptn.sh/stable/docs/reference/api-reference.
What industry is Keptn in?
Keptn's product category is Cloud-native application delivery platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADACAE, Container & Kubernetes Application Security. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.