GitLab Inc. explained

GitLab Inc.
Logo Alt:GitLab
Headquarters:San Francisco
Area Served:Worldwide
Commercial:Yes
Registration:Optional
Language:English
Revenue: (2025)
Operating Income: (2025)
Net Income: (2025)
Assets: (2025)
Equity: (2025)
Num Employees:2,375 (2025)[1]
Industry:Software
Programming Language:Ruby, Go and Vue.js
Footnotes:[2] [3]
Launch Date:[4]
Current Status:Online

GitLab Inc. is an American company that operates and develops GitLab, an open-core DevOps software package that can develop, secure, and operate software.[5] GitLab includes a distributed version control system based on Git,[6] including features such as access control,[7] bug tracking,[8] software feature requests, task management,[9] and wikis[10] for every project, as well as snippets.[11]

The open-source software project was created by Ukrainian developer Dmytro Zaporozhets and Dutch developer Sytse Sijbrandij.[12] In 2018, GitLab Inc. was considered to be the first partly Ukrainian unicorn.[13] [14] GitLab has an estimated over 30 million registered users, including 1 million active licensed users.[15] There are more than 3,300 code contributors and team members in 60+ countries.[16]

Overview

GitLab Inc. was established in 2014 to continue the development of the open-source code-sharing platform launched in 2011 by Dmytro (or Dmitriy) Zaporozhets. The company's co-founder Sytse Sijbrandij initially contributed to the project and decided to build a business around it.[17] [18]

GitLab offers its platform using a freemium model. Since its founding, GitLab Inc. has promoted remote work[19] and is known as one of the largest all-remote companies in the world.[20] By 2020, the company employed 1300 people in 65 countries.[21]

History

The company participated in the YCombinator seed accelerator Winter 2015 program. By 2015, notable customers included Alibaba Group and IBM.

In January 2017, a database administrator accidentally deleted the production database in the aftermath of a cyberattack, causing the loss of a substantial amount of issue data and merge request data.[22] The recovery process was live-streamed on YouTube.[23] [24]

In April 2018, GitLab Inc. announced integration with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) to simplify the process of spinning up a new cluster to deploy applications.[25]

In May 2018, GNOME moved to GitLab with over 400 projects and 900 contributors.[26] [27]

On August 1, 2018, GitLab Inc. started development of Meltano.[28] On August 11, 2018, GitLab Inc. moved from Microsoft Azure to Google Cloud Platform, making the service inaccessible to users in several regions including: Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, due to sanctions imposed by Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States.[29] In order to overcome this limitation, the non-profit organization Framasoft began providing a Debian mirror to make GitLab CE available in those countries.[30]

In 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, GitLab Inc. released "GitLab's Guide to All-Remote" as well as a course on remote management for the purpose of aiding companies interested in building all-remote work cultures.[31] [32] In April, the company expanded into the Australian and Japanese markets.[33] [34] By November, it was valued at more than $6 billion in a secondary market evaluation.[35]

In 2021, OMERS participated in a secondary shares investment in GitLab Inc.[36]

On March 18, 2021, GitLab Inc. licensed its technology to the Chinese company JiHu.[37]

On June 30, 2021, GitLab Inc. spun out Meltano, an open source ELT platform.[38]

On July 23, 2021, GitLab Inc. released its software Package Hunter, a Falco-based tool that detects malicious code,[39] under the open-source MIT Licence.

On August 4, 2022, GitLab announced its plans for changing its Data Retention Policy and for automatically deleting inactive repositories which have not been modified for a year. As a result, in the following days GitLab received much criticism from the open-source community.[40] Shortly after, it was announced that dormant projects would not be deleted, and would instead remain accessible in an archived state, potentially using a slower type of storage.[41] [42]

In May 2023, the company launched the "GitLab 16.0" platform as an AI-driven DevSecOps solution. It contained over 55 new features and enhancements.[43]

In July 2024, Reuters reported that GitLab was exploring a potential sale after attracting acquisition interest, with cloud monitoring firm Datadog named as one of the interested parties.[44]

Fundraising

GitLab Inc. initially raised $1.5 million in seed funding. Subsequent funding rounds include:

IPO

On September 17, 2021, GitLab Inc. publicly filed a registration statement Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock.[50] The firm began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker "GTLB" on October 14, 2021.[51]

Adoption

GitLab Forge was officially adopted in 2023 by the French Ministry for Education to create a "Digital Educational Commons" of educational resources.[52]

Acquisitions

In March 2015, GitLab Inc. acquired the competing Git hosting service Gitorious, which had around 822,000 registered users at the time.[53] The users of Gitorious were encouraged to migrate to GitLab, and the service was discontinued in June 2015. On March 15, 2017, GitLab Inc. announced the acquisition of Gitter.[54] Included in the announcement was the stated intent that Gitter would continue as a standalone project. Additionally, GitLab Inc. announced that the code would become open-source under an MIT License no later than June 2017.[55]

In January 2018, GitLab Inc. acquired Gemnasium, a service that provided security scanners with alerts for known security vulnerabilities in open-source libraries of various languages.[56] The service was scheduled for complete shut-down on May 15. Gemnasium features and technology was integrated into GitLab EE and as part of CI/CD.[57]

On June 11, 2020, GitLab Inc. acquired Peach Tech, a security software firm specializing in protocol fuzz testing, and Fuzzit,[58] a continuous "fuzz" security testing solution.

On June 2, 2021, GitLab Inc. acquired UnReview, a tool that automates software review cycles.[59]

On December 14, 2021, GitLab Inc. announced that it had acquired Opstrace, Inc., developers of an open-source software monitoring and observability platform.[60]

Controversy

In December 2023, GitLab forced users in mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong, to migrate to JiHu (gitlab.cn), the authorized Chinese entity which distributes and supports GitLab in the region, by February 2025, after which their accounts will be deleted. JiHu Information Technology was established by GitLab in 2021 to provide localized GitLab services tailored for the Chinese market, operating independently from GitLab.com.[61]

In December 2024, JiHu faced severe internal and external criticism. A now-former JiHu GitLab DevOps architect publicly revealed an alleged "Endgame Plan" orchestrated by the company's CEO Liu Gang, which involved pressuring free GitLab CE users in China to become paying customers through potentially misleading legal tactics. Following these public accusations and a call for the CEO's removal, the architect was terminated and faced legal demands for retraction. He also made allegations regarding concealed American capital within JiHu GitLab, potentially posing national security risks due to the company's involvement with a Chinese aerospace entity.[62]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: GitLab Inc. FY 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) . March 21, 2025 . SEC.gov . . March 22, 2025 .
  2. Web site: GitLab Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results . March 15, 2023 . ir.gitlab.com . March 15, 2023 . March 15, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315144619/https://ir.gitlab.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gitlab-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2023-financial . live .
  3. Web site: Sijbrandij . Sid . GitLab goes public on Nasdaq a $10 billion IPO . . October 14, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . January 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220125091608/https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/10/14/gitlab-goes-public-on-nasdaq-a-10-billion-ipo.html . live .
  4. Web site: GitLab hauls in $268M Series E on 2.75B valuation. September 17, 2019.
  5. Web site: October 14, 2021 . GitLab goes public on Nasdaq a $10 billion IPO . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220125091608/https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/10/14/gitlab-goes-public-on-nasdaq-a-10-billion-ipo.html . January 25, 2022 . November 10, 2021 . .
  6. Web site: Learn Git - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  7. Web site: Control access and visibility - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  8. Web site: Issues - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  9. Web site: Tasks - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  10. Web site: Wikis - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  11. Web site: Snippets - GitLab . July 7, 2024 .
  12. Web site: Lee . Isabelle . October 14, 2021 . Coding platform GitLab leaps 23% in trading debut after pricing IPO at $77 a share . . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608134600/https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gitlab-stock-price-ipo-trading-debut-nasdaq-77-billion-valuation-2021-10 . live . November 10, 2021 .
  13. Web site: October 30, 2018 . GitLab, founded by a Ukrainian citizen, raised $100 million. It became a unicorn valued at $ 1.1 billion . September 27, 2019 . AIN.UA . June 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210628202334/https://ain.ua/en/2018/10/30/gitlab-became-a-unicorn/ . live .
  14. Web site: November 30, 2018 . Dmytriy Zaporozhets, GitLab: "I believe that GitLab can be called a Ukrainian startup" . September 27, 2019 . AIN.UA . February 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220221155101/https://ain.ua/en/2018/11/30/dmitry-zaporozhets-gitlab/ . live .
  15. Web site: Goled . Shraddha . GitLab To Go Public: Tracing The Company's Highs & Lows . Analytics India Magazine . September 22, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000741/https://analyticsindiamag.com/gitlab-to-go-public-tracing-the-companys-highs-lows/ . live .
  16. Web site: About GitLab . May 5, 2024 . about.gitlab.com .
  17. Web site: Albert-Deitch . Cameron . November 13, 2018 . How This Startup Made $10.5 Million in Revenue With Every Single Employee Working From Home . Inc.com . April 10, 2020 . April 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200426185947/https://www.inc.com/cameron-albert-deitch/2018-inc5000-gitlab.html . live .
  18. Web site: Novet . Jordan . July 9, 2015 . Y Combinator-backed GitHub competitor GitLab raises $1.5M . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043014/https://venturebeat.com/2015/07/09/y-combinator-backed-github-competitor-gitlab-raises-1-5m/ . March 22, 2021 . July 12, 2017 . VentureBeat.
  19. Web site: Novet . Jordan . July 18, 2020 . This Company Was Fully Remote with 1,300 Employees Long before Coronavirus — Here's How They Did It . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000742/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/18/gitlab-worked-remotely-with-over-1000-employees-before-coronavirus.html . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . CNBC.
  20. Web site: Cameron Albert-Deitch . September 23, 2019 . This $2.75 Billion Company Employs Only Remote Workers. Here's How It Works . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221208211755/https://www.inc.com/cameron-albert-deitch/gitlab-tips-remote-workforce.html . December 8, 2022 . December 9, 2022 . Inc..
  21. Web site: Liu . Jennifer . December 9, 2020 . How a Company with 1,300 Remote Workers in 65 countries Is Approaching Holiday Events . CNBC . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000742/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/09/gitlabs-1300-remote-workers-in-65-countries-approach-to-holidays.html . live .
  22. Web site: GitLab.com Database Incident . February 1, 2017 . March 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043016/https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2017/02/01/gitlab-dot-com-database-incident/ . live .
  23. Web site: Gitlab Database Incident - Live Troubleshooting - YouTube. YouTube . August 1, 2018. March 22, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043256/https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLhSMqmFa5p_QwTyFWnYNDK8LWfvcdoxa. live.
  24. News: GitLab offline after catastrophic database error loses mountains of data. Hughes. Matthew. February 1, 2017. The Next Web. August 1, 2018 . August 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190323/https://thenextweb.com/dd/2017/02/01/gitlab-offline-catastrophic-database-error-loses-mountains-data/. live.
  25. Web site: GitLab gets a native integration with Google's Kubernetes Engine . December 29, 2019 . TechCrunch . April 5, 2018 .
  26. News: GNOME, Welcome to GitLab! . GitLab . June 6, 2018 . June 6, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180606133815/https://about.gitlab.com/2018/05/31/welcome-gnome-to-gitlab/ . live .
  27. Web site: GNOME moves to Gitlab – GNOME . https://web.archive.org/web/20201223162118/https://www.gnome.org/news/2018/05/gnome-moves-to-gitlab-2/ . December 23, 2020 . June 6, 2018 . Gnome.org .
  28. Web site: August 1, 2018 . Hey, data teams - We're working on a tool just for you . August 25, 2021 . August 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210826044002/https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2018/08/01/hey-data-teams-we-are-working-on-a-tool-just-for-you/ . live .
  29. News: July 19, 2018 . Update on our planned move from Azure to Google Cloud Platform . The Official Gitlab Blog . December 18, 2018 . November 11, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181111071922/https://about.gitlab.com/2018/07/19/gcp-move-update/ . live .
  30. Web site: Framasoft Gitlab CE's repositories mirror . apt.gitlab.mirror.Framasoft.org . December 4, 2020 . October 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201026074207/https://apt.gitlab.mirror.framasoft.org/ . live .
  31. Web site: Miller . Ron . March 24, 2020 . GitLab offers key lessons in running an all-remote workforce in new e-book . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000741/https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/24/gitlab-offers-key-lessons-in-running-an-all-remote-workforce-in-new-e-book/ . live .
  32. Web site: Daso . Frederick . October 4, 2021 . Pareto Eliminates Mundane Tasks For Founders Building Their Startups . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000742/https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickdaso/2021/08/04/pareto-eliminates-mundane-tasks-for-founders-building-their-startups/?sh=4adb7986dab6 . live .
  33. Web site: Tan . Aaron . April 15, 2020 . GitLab expands into Australia as DevOps tooling market heats up . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000743/https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252481620/GitLab-expands-into-Australia-as-DevOps-tooling-market-heats-up . live .
  34. Web site: Akutsu . Yoshikazu . April 30, 2020 . GitLab launches in the Japanese market "DevOps life cycle is realized in a single unit" . . November 10, 2021 . September 25, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210925160547/https://japan.techrepublic.com/article/35153092.htm . live .
  35. Web site: Levy . Ari . December 1, 2020 . GitLab is being valued at more than $6 billion in secondary share sale . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000744/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/30/-gitlab-valued-over-6-billion-in-secondary-share-sale.html . live .
  36. Web site: OMERS Participates in Secondary Shares Deal of GitLab . January 19, 2021 . SWFI . January 19, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210119193655/https://www.swfinstitute.org/news/83852/omers-participates-in-secondary-shares-deal-of-gitlab . live .
  37. Web site: March 19, 2021 . GitLab China established a joint venture company "Jihu" . Finance Sina . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000743/http://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/csj/2021-03-19/doc-ikkntiam5452991.shtml . live .
  38. Web site: Meltano Spins out of GitLab, Raises $4.2M in Seed Funding Led by GV to Enhance Open Source Data Integration . August 25, 2021 . GitLab . August 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210826044010/https://about.gitlab.com/press/releases/2021-06-30-meltano-spins-out-of-gitlab-raises-seed-funding-led-by-gv.html . live .
  39. Web site: Sawers . Paul . August 2, 2021 . GitLab's open source Package Hunter detects malicious code in dependencies . Venture Beat . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000742/https://venturebeat.com/2021/08/02/gitlabs-open-source-package-hunter-detects-malicious-code-in-dependencies/ . live .
  40. Web site: August 4, 2022 . Sharwood . Simon . GitLab plans to delete dormant projects in free accounts . The Register . August 5, 2022 . August 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220805164607/https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/04/gitlab_data_retention_policy/ . live .
  41. Web site: August 5, 2022 . Sharwood . Simon . GitLab U-turns on deleting dormant projects after backlash . The Register . August 8, 2022 . August 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220808025632/https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/05/gitlab_reverses_deletion_policy/ . live .
  42. gitlab . 1555325376687226883 . Gitlab's response regarding inactive repos . August 8, 2022.
  43. Web site: GitLab announces AI-DevSecOps platform GitLab 16 . June 9, 2023 . techrepublic.com . May 26, 2023 . June 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604000049/https://www.techrepublic.com/article/gitlab-16-ai-devsecops-platform/ . live .
  44. News: July 17, 2024 . Exclusive: Google-backed software developer GitLab explores sale, sources say . July 17, 2024 . Reuters.
  45. Web site: September 17, 2015 . GitLab Raises $4M Series A Round From Khosla Ventures . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043018/https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/17/gitlab-raises-4m-series-a-round-from-khosla-ventures-for-its-open-source-collaboration-platform/ . March 22, 2021 . December 17, 2016 . TechCrunch.
  46. Web site: Miller . Ron . September 13, 2016 . GitLab secures $20 million Series B . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043002/https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/13/gitlab-secures-20-million-series-b/ . March 22, 2021 . November 3, 2016 . TechCrunch.
  47. News: GitLab raises $20M Series C round led by GV . TechCrunch . August 1, 2018 . August 1, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190533/https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/09/gitlab-raises-20m-series-c-round-led-by-gv/ . live .
  48. Web site: September 18, 2019 . Ukrainian startup GitLab raises $268 million at a valuation of $2.7 billion . September 27, 2019 . AIN.UA . September 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190927140046/https://ain.ua/en/2019/09/18/gitlab-raises-268-million/ . live .
  49. Web site: September 17, 2019 . GitLab raises $268 million at a $2.7 billion valuation . September 27, 2019 . VentureBeat . September 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190927135314/https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/17/gitlab-raises-268-million-at-a-2-7-billion-valuation/ . live .
  50. Web site: Levy . Ari . September 17, 2021 . Microsoft GitHub rival GitLab files to go public after annualized revenue tops $200 million . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000754/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/17/github-rival-gitlab-files-to-go-public-on-revenue-over-200-million.html . live .
  51. Web site: Boorstin . Julia . Fortt . Jon . October 14, 2021 . GitLab goes public on Nasdaq a $10 billion IPO . CNBC TechCheck . November 10, 2021 . January 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220125091608/https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/10/14/gitlab-goes-public-on-nasdaq-a-10-billion-ipo.html . live .
  52. Web site: A GitLab forge for all teachers and students in France?. fosdem.org. February 10, 2023. February 10, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230210134446/https://fosdem.org/2023/schedule/event/gitlab_forge_for_teachers_and_students_in_france/. live.
  53. News: Degeler . Andrii . March 3, 2015 . Code Collaboration Platform GitLab Acquires Rival Gitorious . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043014/https://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/03/03/gitlab-acquires-rival-gitorious-will-shut-june-1/ . March 22, 2021 . August 1, 2018 . The Next Web .
  54. News: GitLab acquires software chat startup Gitter, will open-source the code. March 15, 2017. VentureBeat. August 1, 2018 . July 8, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180708162124/https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/15/gitlab-acquires-software-chat-startup-gitter-will-open-source-the-code/. live.
  55. Web site: Gitter is joining the GitLab team. GitLab. March 15, 2017. March 15, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170315173528/https://about.gitlab.com/2017/03/15/gitter-acquisition/. live.
  56. News: GitLab acquires Gemnasium to strengthen its security services. TechCrunch. August 1, 2018 . August 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180801220849/https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/30/gitlab-acquires-gemnasium-to-strengthen-its-security-services/. live.
  57. News: GitLab makes CI/CD tools available for GitHub repositories. Condon. Stephanie. ZDNet. August 1, 2018 . April 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180405012041/https://www.zdnet.com/article/gitlab-makes-cicd-tools-available-for-github-repositories/. live.
  58. Web site: Taft . Darryl . June 12, 2021 . GitLab makes two acquisitions to shift fuzz testing left . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000743/https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/252484613/GitLab-makes-two-acquisitions-to-shift-fuzz-testing-left . live .
  59. Web site: Lardinois . Frederic . June 2, 2021 . GitLab acquires UnReview as it looks to bring more ML tools to its platform . . November 10, 2021 . November 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000742/https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/02/gitlab-acquires-unreview-as-it-looks-to-bring-more-ml-tools-to-its-platform/ . live .
  60. Web site: December 14, 2021 . GitLab will create the first integrated observability solution within a DevOps Platform . GitLab Investor Relations . December 17, 2021 . December 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211217214255/https://ir.gitlab.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gitlab-acquires-opstrace-expand-its-devops-platform-open-source . live .
  61. Web site: GitLab不再为中国区用户提供GitLab.com账号服务 旧账户将被删除 - 最新消息 . cnBeta . April 13, 2025 . zh-CN .
  62. Web site: April 14, 2025 . zh:号召全体员工“一起开除老板”，极狐 GitLab 架构师怒斥高层“恐吓免费版用户”，前员工揭 CEO“不懂开源”-36氪 . "Let's All Fire the Boss": JiHu GitLab Architect Lambastes Executives for "Threatening Free Users," Ex-Employee Exposes CEO's "Lack of Open Source Understanding" - 36Kr . https://36kr.com/p/3074244292489858 . April 13, 2025 . 36kr.com .

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