French open-source workflow automation platform Kestra has secured $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Felicis, with participation from existing investors FirstMark Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners. The Paris-based startup, founded in 2021 by CEO Emmanuel Darras and CTO Ludovic Dehareng, plans to use the capital to accelerate its U.S. expansion and enhance its platform for managing critical data and business workflows.
Kestra’s platform enables engineers to orchestrate complex workflows—such as data pipelines, business process automation, and infrastructure management—using a declarative YAML-based approach. This design aims to improve reliability, scalability, and observability compared to traditional code-heavy solutions. The company reports significant traction, with over 1.5 million downloads, adoption by more than 250 organizations including brands like Leroy Merlin, BlaBlaCar, and Alan, and a growing community of 2,000 developers.
The funding underscores rising demand for robust workflow orchestration tools as enterprises grapple with increasingly complex, data-dependent processes. Kestra’s open-source model and focus on critical workflows position it to compete in a market alongside platforms like Apache Airflow. With the new capital, the team intends to bolster its engineering and go-to-market efforts, particularly in the competitive North American sector.