GitLab Strengthens Developer Ecosystem with Gitter Acquisition
GitLab, a leading provider of open-source and premium DevOps tools, has announced the acquisition of Gitter, a popular chat platform for developer communities. The deal, with undisclosed terms, marks GitLab’s latest move to enhance collaboration in software development.
Why Gitter Matters for GitLab
Gitter has become a staple in developer workflows, offering dedicated chat rooms tied to code repositories. While commonly seen on GitHub (GitLab’s primary compe*****), Gitter also integrates seamlessly with GitLab projects. For example, the Gitter CLI repository on GitLab includes its own Gitter chat room for real-time discussions.
Open-Sourcing Gitter’s Codebase
GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij confirmed to VentureBeat that while Gitter won’t be bundled with GitLab’s Community or Enterprise editions immediately, its code will be open-sourced. This strategic decision empowers developers to build upon Gitter’s infrastructure while maintaining transparency.
Introducing Gitter Topics: A Q&A Revolution
As part of the acquisition, Gitter is rolling out Topics, a new feature designed to streamline developer discussions:
- Structured Knowledge Sharing: Moves beyond chronological chats to organized Q&A (similar to Stack Overflow)
- Improved Discoverability: Solves Gitter’s historical challenge of information retrieval in fast-moving conversations
- Beta Availability: Currently testing in GitHub-linked Gitter rooms, with GitLab integration coming soon
Image Credit: GitLab - Gitter’s new Topics feature in action
Gitter by the Numbers
- Founded: 2014 (same year as Slack’s launch)
- Funding: $2.2 million raised in October 2015 (Index Ventures, Kima Ventures, Nexus Ventures)
- Team Transition: 3 of 6 Gitter employees joining GitLab’s remote workforce
- User Base: 800,000+ registered developers, 300,000 monthly active users
GitLab’s Growing Ecosystem
This acquisition follows GitLab’s $20 million funding round in September 2016. The company continues to support Mattermost, its open-source Slack alternative, for internal team communication.
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