Who is the CEO of Kernel?

Catherine Jue is the CEO of Kernel. The company was founded in 2025.

Where is Kernel located?

Kernel is headquartered in San Francisco, USA.

What funding stage is Kernel at?

Kernel is currently at the Early Stage stage.

How many employees does Kernel have?

Kernel has approximately 6 employees.

Kernel

Category: AI Infrastructure

Kernel provides fast browsers-as-a-service API for building and scaling AI agents and web automations. Kernel was founded in 2025. The company is led by Catherine Jue. Based in San Francisco, USA. Team size: 6. Total funding raised: $22M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include ["Accel","Y Combinator","Cintrifuse Capital","Vercel Ventures","Refinery Ventures","SV Angel"].

Founded: 2025
Headquarters: San Francisco, USA
Team size: 6
Total funding: $22M

Value proposition

Simplify the infrastructure for building browser-based AI agents, allowing developers to focus on core product logic rather than underlying infrastructure, with high speed and reliability.

Products and solutions

["Browsers-as-a-Service API","Open-source MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for secure, low-latency cloud-browser automation"]

Unique value

Kernel focuses on a specialized, high-performance, low-latency infrastructure layer designed specifically for AI agents that need to interact with browsers, using unikernel technology and session reuse for performance advantages.

Target customer

Developers and companies building AI-powered automation tools, including QA agents and vertical-specific agents for automating back-office processes

Industries served

["Software Development (QA)","Healthcare (HIPAA-compliant)","General back-office automation (cross-industry)"]

Technology advantage

Open-source, compatible with Playwright and Puppeteer, HIPAA-compliant (SOC2 Type 2 pending), secure low-latency solution with browsers launching in ~300 ms.

How they differentiate

Provides a secure, high-performance browser infrastructure tailored for AI agents, with advanced anti-detection, built-in CAPTCHA solving, and secure user authentication handling, emphasizing speed (≈300 ms launch) versus broader web‑scraping or multi‑profile tools.

Main competitors

["Browserbase","Bright Data","MultiLogin","Hyperbrowser"]

Key partnerships

["Accel (Lead Investor)","Y Combinator","Cintrifuse Capital","Vercel Ventures","Refinery Ventures","SV Angel","Val Town (Collaboration)"]

Notable customers

["Not publicly disclosed"]

Major milestones

["Raised $22M Series A led by Accel in October 2025","Graduated from Y Combinator S25 batch","Launched browser infrastructure platform for AI agents","Achieved ~300 ms browser launch times"]

Growth metrics

Specific growth metrics are not publicly disclosed; the company has a lean team of 6 engineers and has achieved significant traction.

Market positioning

Positioned as foundational infrastructure for AI agents and web automation, targeting developers and businesses needing reliable, scalable, and secure browser environments.

Geographic focus

Based in San Francisco, primary focus on the North American market with additional presence in Cincinnati.

Patents and IP

No publicly available information on patents.

About Catherine Jue

Co-Founder of Kernel. Previously worked as a Software Engineer at Cash App (Block) and Uber, and was the Founder of Tekuno, a Japanese tea sourcing company.

Official website: https://www.onkernel.com/