Netlify

Netlify

Company type	Private
Industry	Cloud computing, Web development
Founded	2014 (2014)
Founder	Mathias Biilmann, Christian Bach
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Development platform for web applications, static site hosting, serverless functions, CI/CD infrastructure, Jamstack tools
Website	netlify.com

Netlify operates as a cloud computing provider offering a comprehensive development platform that encompasses build, deployment, and serverless backend capabilities tailored for web applications and dynamic websites.

The platform facilitates the creation, deployment, and scaling of websites by utilizing source files maintained in the version control system Git, which are then transformed into static web assets served through a content delivery network. To support dynamic website elements, Netlify provides Functions that enable interactive features. Additionally, the platform supports integration with numerous plugins and APIs, allowing developers to enhance their web projects’ functionality.

History

Netlify was established in 2014 by Mathias Biilmann, a Danish entrepreneur who previously led Webpop, a content management startup based in San Francisco. In 2015, Biilmann invited Christian Bach—his childhood acquaintance and former executive at a Danish creative agency—to join as co-founder. The company underwent a rebranding from MakerLoop to Netlify in 2017.

Originally concentrating on hosting static websites, Netlify progressively broadened its offerings to incorporate serverless functions, testing tools, and deployment services, thereby attracting both individual developers and enterprise clients.

To strengthen its product lineup and market presence, Netlify has made several strategic acquisitions:

• FeaturePeek in May 2021, a startup that enables developer teams to preview frontend content collaboratively.
• OneGraph in November 2021, enhancing app composition through APIs and GraphQL integration.
• Quirrel in February 2022, an open-source solution for orchestrating serverless function execution and scheduling.
• Gatsby in February 2023, a Jamstack framework and competitor platform.
• Stackbit in June 2023, specializing in visual editing tools designed to deliver end-to-end solutions across the web development stack.

These acquisitions underscore Netlify’s commitment to solidifying its leadership within the Jamstack ecosystem while expanding capabilities for development teams working on modern web projects.

Financing

On August 16, 2016, Netlify secured $2.1 million in funding from prominent founders associated with GitHub, Heroku, Rackspace Cloud, Bloomberg Beta, and Tank Hill.

A year later, on August 9, 2017, the company obtained $12 million in Series A investment led by Andreessen Horowitz.

By October 9, 2018, Netlify completed a Series B financing round worth $30 million, spearheaded by Kleiner Perkins and including participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Slack and Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, among others.

On March 4, 2020, the firm raised $53 million through a Series C round led by EQT Ventures, with additional backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Preston-Werner Ventures.

Most recently, on November 17, 2021, Netlify closed a Series D round totaling $105 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners at a valuation of $2 billion. This round also saw existing investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, BOND, EQT Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Mango Capital, and Menlo Ventures participate. These investments brought Netlify’s cumulative funding to $212 million.

Connect and build web applications

Netlify delivers a platform designed to optimize development workflows. Its Netlify Build service offers automated CI/CD infrastructure tailored for frontend teams without the need for dedicated pipeline management. Through Netlify Graph’s GraphQL-based integration layer, developers can seamlessly connect with multiple APIs including GitHub, Stripe, and Salesforce while abstracting away complexities related to data models and authentication.

Developers leverage Netlify CLI to write and test code locally. Netlify Dev simulates the production environment on their local machines for accurate development. Unique URLs generated via Deploy Previews correspond to each Pull or Merge Request, facilitating collaborative feedback synchronized with organizational productivity tools.

Run web applications

Netlify Edge enhances web performance by distributing applications globally with automated prerendering and supports deployment across various cloud providers featuring instant cache invalidation.

Its serverless platform includes Netlify Functions, Background Functions, Scheduled Functions, and Edge Functions. Edge Functions operate at the network edge using the open source Deno runtime and support both server-side and edge-first frameworks for delivering dynamic content or full applications.

Functions act as API endpoints or background processes written in JavaScript, TypeScript, or Go. They trigger automatically in response to events and can be invoked directly from frontend interfaces or through webhooks.

Ecosystem and Integrations

Netlify partners extensively with open source contributors, authors of web frameworks, digital agencies, and technology vendors to empower developers integrating diverse tools into their projects. As an Enabler member of the MACH Alliance, it promotes open technology ecosystems built from best-of-breed components.

JAMstack

JAMstack represents a cloud-native web architecture emphasizing client-side JavaScript, reusable APIs, and prebuilt markup content. Originating with Netlify’s innovation, this approach shifts away from traditional backend-centric models toward robust frontend static pages. Netlify organizes the annual Jamstack Conf event and administers the Jamstack Community Survey to maintain its leadership within this domain.

Reception

In March 2017, Software Development Times recognized Netlify CMS as the "GitHub project of the week." Later, on July 10, 2018, Tom Preston-Werner, the founder of GitHub, forecasted that within five years, JAMstack would become the foundation for building large-scale web applications, which would be deployed using Netlify.

Netlify boasts an impressive client list featuring industry leaders such as Google, Facebook, Verizon, NBC, Samsung, Nike, Cisco, Atlassian, Twilio, and Unilever. These collaborations highlight Netlify’s significant market presence and widespread acceptance across various sectors.