Google LLC is reportedly targeting container software company D2iQ Inc. as a potential acquisition.

D2iQ, formerly known as Mesosphere Inc., sells a platform and management tools for cloud-native applications built atop of Kubernetes, the open-source container orchestration tool. The company changed its name last year to reflect its pivot to Kubernetes. It already has a relationship with Google, as a Google Cloud Platform and G Suite partner.

Axios, which first broke the story, cited an unnamed source “close to the situation” who said Google is holding talks with a view to acquiring D2iQ.

The deal would likely exceed the $250 million that D2iQ has raised in venture capital funding, but won’t be as high as the $775 million valuation that followed its last, Series D round in 2018, Axios said.

That’s assuming the deal actually takes place, of course. Axios reported that the outcome of the talks is far from certain, and that at least one D2iQ board member is said to oppose the transaction.

Although neither company would acknowledge talks are taking place, D2iQ looks ripe for acquisition after laying off 34 of its employees recently, according to another report from Business Insider. Those layoffs came just weeks after D2iQ Chief Executive Officer Mike Fey announced he was stepping down from the company.

Google originally designed Kubernetes as an internal project before releasing it to the open-source community, where it’s now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. As such, D2iQ’s newfound expertise with Kubernetes could help Google’s own efforts, as it offers a number of managed services around the software, Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE.

“Moreover, it has the potential to be an acquihire as well, with Google moving to secure D2iQ’s talent,” Mueller said.

If the acquisition does go ahead, it would be Google’s second major buy in 2020, following its $2.6 billion deal to acquire Looker Data Sciences Inc. in February.

Tobi Knaup, co-founder and chief technology officer of D2iQ, stopped by theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, last year to discuss the company’s pivot to Kubernetes management and cloud-native:

Photo: Shawn Collins/Flickr