Software container company Docker Inc. today disclosed that it has raised $23 million in funding to build new features for the more than 7 million developers who use its tools.

The company says it has added close to 2 million users over the last year alone. 

Palo Alto, California-based Docker is the inventor of modern software containers. Containers allow developers to deploy code in portable packages that can run on many different kinds of infrastructure and provide a high degree of hardware efficiency. Seven years after Docker released the first iteration of the technology, it forms the basis of countless enterprise applications worldwide. 

Docker has evolved its market focus over time. Initially, the startup provided two sets of products: one aimed at making it easier for developers to build containerized applications and another designed to help enterprises manage those applications. Docker sold the enterprise business to Mirantis Inc. in late 2019 and refocused entirely on providing developer tools, raising $35 million at the time to support its updated strategy.

The latest $23 million investment announced today will enable Docker to double down on that strategy. Chief Executive Officer Scott Johnston (pictured) wrote in a blog post that the company will enhance its developer products with additional capabilities meant to streamline application projects.

Docker provides two products, both under a freemium pricing model: Docker Desktop and Docker Hub. The former is a desktop application that helps with various aspects of building container applications, from testing code to uploading it to a company’s production environment. Docker Hub is a kind of app store where developers can download ready-to-use application components packaged into containers.

Both products are available for free. Docker makes money by providing commercial editions that offer additional features not included in the core versions. The commercial edition of Docker Desktop finds security vulnerabilities in developers’ code, while Docker Hub’s paid tier allows software teams to create private repositories where they can store their application components.

The company says both its free and paid product versions saw strong growth in the year leading up to the $23 million round. Docker’s achievements included “adding 1.8 million new registered developers for a total of more than 7.3 million, and growing our annual recurring revenue (ARR) 170% year-over-year,” Johnston detailed in the blog post.

Looking ahead, the CEO wrote, the plan is to add new features that will allow developers to track project progress and share code files with colleagues more easily. Likewise, in the interest of boosting its users’ productivity, Docker will make it easier to integrate its products with other development tools software teams use as part of their projects. 

Lastly, the company will invest in expanding Docker Hub. Docker will work to grow the selection of application components that are available for the download in the service, as well as build “additional tools to help development teams increase software supply chain confidence, security and visibility,” Johnston said.

Tribe Capital led Docker’s $23 million round. The Silicon Valley venture capital firm, which counts Slack Technologies Inc. among its previous investments, was joined by existing Docker backers Benchmark and Insight Partners.

Photo: SiliconANGLE