Portland, OR-based data center automation software developer Puppet Labs, formerly known as Reductive Labs, has raised $5 million in Series B venture financing led by Menlo Park, CA-based firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The open-source startup, founded in 2003, helps companies automate the configuration and management of computers and servers through their flagship product—and now namesake—Puppet. In a statement released today the company said it plans to use the new funds to build out its engineering team.
After relocating to Portland in 2009, Puppet Labs received $2 million in Series A financing led by Palo Alto, CA-based True Ventures in June of last year. Other ongoing investors include Radar Partners and Emerson St. Partners. As part of the financing deal, Radar Partners co-founder and former KPCB partner Kevin Compton will be joining the company’s board of directors.
“Systems management is still a roadblock for many organizations. As data centers grow, configuring physical and virtual servers becomes a barrier to consistency and scalability,” said True Ventures partner Puneet Agarwal in a statement. “We’re very pleased with the progress and momentum Puppet Labs has demonstrated since the Series A round and are excited to expand our investment in their success.”
Puppet Labs also rolled out a new version of its platform, Puppet 2.6, today, which incorporates improvements targeted at “enterprise environments.” Some of the upgrades include a better application programming interface that allows Puppet to integrate more easily with other systems, basic Windows support, and enhanced language capabilities.
“The 2.6 release places an even stronger emphasis on the enterprise while also opening up new opportunities for people with varied skill sets to use Puppet,” said Puppet Labs CEO Luke Kanies. “The changes are truly significant because Puppet is now even more capable of making traditionally painful, manual process easier for systems administrators.”
