Ubicloud desires to construct an open supply various to AWS

Utilizing the big cloud computing suppliers is handy, however not precisely low-cost. Ubicloud, a brand new startup based by the group behind Citus Data, which Microsoft acquired in 2019, desires to vary the dynamics by providing a layer of core cloud computing providers on high of reasonably priced bare-metal servers from suppliers like Hetzner, OVH Cloud, Leaseweb and AWS. This consists of a managed service and an open-source version that permits builders to construct their very own cloud on naked metallic suppliers.

Presently, Ubicloud’s focus is on a small set of core parts: compute and a PostgreSQL database service (Citus Information additionally guess closely on PostgreSQL), along with the prerequisite networking capabilities to create private and non-private digital networks. Attribute-based entry controls are additionally built-in by default. Over time, the group plans so as to add a block storage characteristic and a Kubernetes-based container service as nicely.

Picture Credit: Ubicloud

Co-founders Ozgun Erdogan and Umur Cubukcu beforehand constructed Citus Information, the place additionally they met Daniel Farina, who beforehand was instrumental in constructing Heroku PostgreSQL. Throughout his time at Microsoft, he additionally labored on a number of core Azure providers. Citus Information was a part of the Y Combinator summer time 2011 cohort and after his time at Microsoft, Cubukcu went again to the accelerator as a visiting associate in 2023.

“We obviously built our careers and what we haveon the cloud itself, right? Citus Data wouldn’t have been possible without,” Cubukcu mentioned. “We are absolutely big fans of the cloud. At the same time […], we’ve been in it for such a long time and we see where there’s actually ways to do it better, or do it simpler.”

He acknowledges that Ubicloud gained’t substitute the total breadth of AWS choices. However he argues that almost all of the worth is in perhaps 10 p.c of these choices and he believes that the Ubicloud managed service can supply that to builders at a cheaper price and with an easier developer expertise. “The delta between the hardware costs and what the hyperscalers are charging has gotten progressively larger. It used to be that you’d see  lots of price drops, but that’s not quite happening anymore,” he mentioned. Later, he additionally famous that one space the place there have been progress is egress charges, which helps a service like Ubicloud.

Builders on Ubicloud will be capable of select the place they wish to host their providers. Proper now, the group advised me, one of many candy spots for Ubicloud is working GitHub Motion runners. The corporate can also be seeing quite a few customers who spin up machines for long-running workloads on the platform, in addition to strong demand for its PostgreSQL database service.

Erdogan careworn {that a} Kubernetes platform can also be on the way in which, which in flip will enable the group to supply extra options on high of its infrastructure-as-a-service layer.

When you’ve been across the cloud for lengthy sufficient, then an open-source competitor to AWS might sound a bit acquainted. Ever because the daybreak of hyberscale clouds, we’ve seen initiatives that aimed to offer the core AWS providers, largely for on-premises use instances. The poster baby right here is OpenStack, which went by its personal growth and bust cycle, however has discovered stable ground lately.

The Ubicloud group, nevertheless, argues that its method is sort of completely different. “OpenStack is from a different era,” Cubukcu mentioned. “It reminds me […] a bit of Hadoop, where there is a consortium where a lot of different companies are coming together. It is open, yes, but then it supports 10 different flavors of operating systems and hypervisors — and in order to make it work, you really need an army of people. It is a solution, but you don’t have, for example, a managed OpenStack-as-a-service, right? It’s too complicated for that, whereas with Ubicloud, our managed service is available from day one. You sign up, you can start using it in two minutes.”

Equally, Erdogan famous that immediately’s open-source panorama is sort of completely different. That permits Ubicloud to make use of present open-source initiatives for its digital networking and storage providers, for instance. “Fifteen years ago, all those service [that are on the Ubicloud roadmap] did not have open-source data plane components. These days, for the core services, all of those now have good open-source alternatives, barring maybe one or two,” he mentioned.

Ubicloud additionally immediately introduced that it has raised a $16 million seed spherical, which closed in early January. Among the many traders are Y Combinator and 500 Rising Europe, in addition to quite a few angel traders.

The corporate presently has 10 workers, break up between San Francisco, Amsterdam (the place the Citus Information group constructed a small engineering group in the course of the group’s Microsoft days) and Istanbul.