Kong Raises $100 Million to Accelerate Cloud Connectivity
8.2.2021 18:30:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Kong Inc., the cloud connectivity company, today announced it has closed $100 million in Series D funding, led by Tiger Global Management with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, CRV, GGV Capital and Andreessen Horowitz as well as new investor Goldman Sachs. This latest round brings Kong’s total funding to $171 million, tripling its valuation to $1.4 billion since the Series C round. Kong will use the capital to scale its go-to-market operations, grow world-class Engineering and Customer Experience teams, and accelerate cloud connectivity with its new SaaS-based Kong Konnect service connectivity platform.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210208005517/en/
Kong Co-Founders Augusto Marietti and Marco Palladino (Photo: Business Wire)
“The shift to digital and cloud has been revolutionary across all fronts, quickly propelling developer-led organizations and API-first companies to the forefront,” said John Curtius, partner at Tiger Global Management. “With impressive momentum, happy customers and strong market share, Kong is primed to help organizations meet the growing demands of this new digital reality and succeed in today’s cloud native world. We have been following the company closely for the past couple of years, and Kong is really starting to pull away from the rest of the pack.”
The fundraise follows a record year for Kong, marked by a significant increase in adoption of its flagship open source software – Kong Gateway – now exceeding 220 million total downloads and 1.5 million monthly active instances. The company added key Global 2000 companies such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Papa John’s and Siemens to its growing enterprise customer base, as well as tripled its small business and mid-market enterprise customers. In addition, Kong was recognized as an Inc. 5000 company and a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company with 1,908% revenue growth over a three-year period.
“In 2020, we saw an explosion of data in motion and services as companies fast-tracked the release of new digital experiences in response to the pandemic,” said Augusto Marietti, CEO and co-founder of Kong Inc. “Software is truly becoming like a giant nervous system through millions of APIs and services. Kong is on a mission to become the spinal cord and backbone by building the cloud connectivity fabric of the future.”
IDC predicts that worldwide data will reach 175 zettabytes by 2025, with 49% of the data residing in the cloud. According to Gartner, cloud native platforms will serve as the foundation for more than three-quarters of new digital workloads by 2024. Kong Konnect, a full-stack service connectivity platform designed for cloud native applications and delivered as a service, enables developers, architects and operators to seamlessly deliver connectivity at the edge, within their applications and between applications. It provides universal service connectivity and management that is reliable, observable and secure across any infrastructure.
“Modern infrastructure is driven by open source technologies, and Kong’s open source DNA has played a pivotal role in driving its adoption both in the community and in enterprise organizations,” said Marco Palladino, CTO and co-founder of Kong Inc. “Kong Konnect takes cloud connectivity to the next level by providing a full-stack service connectivity platform that goes from API gateways to services meshes via open technologies like Kong Gateway, CNCF’s Kuma and Insomnia – running across every cloud and every platform, including on Kubernetes and VMs. Teams around the world can now abstract away their enterprise L4-L7 connectivity in one click to build secure, resilient and distributed applications like never before.”
Additional Resources
About Kong Inc.
Kong creates software and managed services that connect APIs and microservices natively across and within clouds, Kubernetes, data centers and more using intelligent automation. Built on an open source core, Kong’s service connectivity platform enables digital innovation by allowing organizations to reliably and securely manage the full lifecycle of APIs and services for modern architectures, including microservices, serverless and service mesh. By providing developer teams with unprecedented architectural freedom, Kong accelerates innovation cycles, increases productivity, and seamlessly bridges legacy and modern systems and applications. For more information about Kong, please visit https://konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210208005517/en/
Contact information
Pauline Louie, Kong, (628) 243-7512, press@konghq.com
Jill Reed, Sift Communications for Kong, kong@siftpr.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Barilla Hosts Surprise Formula 1® Family Reunion Dinner During Miami Race Weekend1.5.2026 19:08:00 EEST | Press release
A special invitation, a table, and a plate of pasta shared by people who are often apart. That’s all it took for Barilla to bring the spirit of togetherness to Miami during the opening day of the FORMULA 1® CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260430832316/en/ Barilla hosts Arvid Lindblad, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Nico Rosberg with Chef Massimo Bottura at Torno Subito, where the Formula 1® community came together for a surprise dinner. Barilla, the Official Pasta Partner of Formula 1®, welcomed team members and their families to Torno Subito Miami, the restaurant by three-Michelin-starred Chef Massimo Bottura, with the kitchen led by Chef Bernardo Paladini, for an evening where engines were switched off and everyday life took center stage. The night also celebrated the start of the new partnership between Barilla and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (VCARB) Formula 1® Team, a meeting of
TIME Names Xenco Medical one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies in the World and the Winner of the 2026 TIME100 Impact Award in Health1.5.2026 13:07:00 EEST | Press release
Time Magazine has named pioneering medical technology company Xenco Medical as one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies in the World and the Winner of the 2026 TIME100 Impact Award in Health. Widely regarded as the most prestigious recognition in business and technology, being selected to the TIME100 List remains the most coveted accolade that a company can achieve globally. The TIME100 Impact Awards are given to only 5 recipients each year, making it the rarest of honors that a company can receive and a profound recognition of transformative, global impact. Xenco Medical was honored by Time as the sole recipient of the TIME100 Impact Award in Health in 2026, signifying its leading, global distinction in impact on healthcare. According to Time Magazine, the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list highlights “companies making an extraordinary impact around the world.” The honor bestowed by Time comes after Xenco Medical was named the 2025 Medical Device/ Diagnostics Company of the
Inspirit Capital Completes Acquisition of Kaplan Languages Group1.5.2026 02:17:00 EEST | Press release
Inspirit Capital, a specialist investor in corporate carve-outs, and Kaplan, the global education company, have announced the completion of Inspirit’s acquisition of Kaplan Languages Group (KLG) from Kaplan. Financial terms are not being disclosed. KLG, a leading global language education platform, comprises Kaplan International Languages, Alpadia Language Schools, Azurlingua, and ESL Education. Inspirit Capital will support KLG in delivering on its ambitious growth plans, whilst continuing its fundamental mission to transform lives through language education. The next phase of ownership will see the development and launch of a refreshed standalone brand identity for KLG, with further announcements to follow on this in due course. KLG will continue to use the Kaplan name under a transitional license from Kaplan, Inc. until a new brand is announced. About Kaplan Languages Group Since 2006, KLG has provided the highest quality language education and cultural immersion experiences. Kaplan
Grindr Nominates Three New Directors to Its Board of Directors1.5.2026 00:16:00 EEST | Press release
Grindr Inc. (NYSE: GRND), the Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket™, today announced the nomination of Rob Solomon, Lisa Gersh, and Fadi Hanna to stand for election to its Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 2, 2026. Rob Solomon is a deeply seasoned technology CEO and operator in consumer internet and marketplaces. He has held CEO and COO roles at scaled platforms including GoFundMe, Groupon, and Kayak-predecessor SideStep, and is currently CEO of leading electric aviation company H55. Lisa Gersh is a CEO and long-tenured public company director with deep experience across consumer brands, media, and commerce. She has served on the Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) board since 2010 and has led businesses including Oxygen Media, GOOP, and Alexander Wang. Fadi Hanna is Chief Risk Officer at Bloomberg L.P., overseeing enterprise risk across the organization. He previously worked at J.P. Morgan and has served on the board of Immigration Equality. “Over the last few years, we bu
The Empire State Building Celebrates 95 Years as the ‘World’s Most Famous Building’30.4.2026 23:42:00 EEST | Press release
The Empire State Building (ESB), the “World’s Most Famous Building,” will celebrate its 95th anniversary on May 1, 2026, with new offers at the Empire State Building Observation Deck, a special birthday tower lighting display, and a slate of celebrations to honor its legacy and future. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260430693323/en/ The Empire State Building Celebrates 95 Years as the ‘World’s Most Famous Building’ “The Empire State Building celebrates its 95th anniversary, still the ‘World’s Most Famous Building,’ a modernized, sustainability leader as technologically advanced today as the day she was completed, and the winner of #1 Top Attraction in the United States in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards for 2026,” said Anthony E. Malkin, chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust. Anniversary Offerings and Experiences To mark its 95th anniversary, the Empire State Building will debut new experiences
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom