KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India 2026 provided another clear signal that interest in open infrastructure is accelerating.

Throughout the event, the OpenInfra Foundation booth remained consistently busy, often with visitors gathered in crowds to discuss OpenStack, StarlingX, and the role open infrastructure is playing in the next generation of cloud, edge, and AI deployments. We were thrilled to have volunteers from OpenInfra User Group India help us manage the booth and offer their own insights to visitors around OpenStack and StarlingX.

For many years, developer conferences focused almost exclusively on applications and orchestration layers. Increasingly, however, we are seeing developers, operators, and platform teams turn their attention back toward the infrastructure that powers those environments. It is a trend we observed earlier this year at CloudFest, and one that was equally evident throughout KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India.

Unlike most conversations at a cloud native showcase booth, the most frequent question was not about how to deploy the software, but instead how to contribute. Attendees reflected the insight Chris Aniszczyk shared in Thursday morning’s keynotes: There are 2.25 cloud native developers in India, accounting for an impressive 11 percent of the global cloud native developer footprint. 

Operational conversations were still frequent and centered around several familiar themes: 

• Organizations are evaluating alternatives to proprietary virtualization platforms. 
• Platform teams are looking for infrastructure that can support AI workloads while maintaining operational flexibility. 
• Governments and enterprises continue to prioritize digital sovereignty, creating renewed interest in open source infrastructure that can be deployed and operated under local control.

The event also provided an opportunity to meet a number of OpenStack operators and users who were not previously engaged with the broader community. NPCI, who averages 240,000 API requests per second, shared their story on the keynote stage, including how their open source powered infrastructure is based on OpenStack. These conversations highlighted the continued growth of OpenStack deployments across the region and demonstrated the importance of creating opportunities for operators to connect, share experiences, and participate upstream.

The broader OpenInfra ecosystem was also engaged throughout the event. OpenInfra Foundation Silver Member Coredge maintained a packed booth of its own, showcasing its OpenStack-powered cloud and edge solutions. Many of the discussions taking place at the Coredge booth reflected the same market dynamics we heard throughout the conference, including growing demand for digital sovereignty, cloud independence, and migration away from proprietary infrastructure platforms.

OpenInfra Foundation Platinum Member Wind River joined us behind the OpenInfra booth, helping answer technical questions about StarlingX and sharing insights from real-world edge computing deployments. Their participation underscored the growing interest in edge infrastructure as organizations look to deploy cloud-native applications closer to users, devices, and data sources.

OpenInfra User Group India Meetup

One of the highlights of the week was the OpenInfra User Group India meetup, which attracted more than 400 registrations and a strong turnout from across the local cloud native and open infrastructure communities.

The gathering provided an opportunity for OpenInfra Foundation staff, User Group leaders, operators, developers, and newcomers to connect in a relaxed environment outside the conference halls. Alongside great food and local hospitality, attendees exchanged stories about operating infrastructure at scale, contributing upstream, and building careers within open source communities.

The meetup served as a reminder that successful open source projects are built on more than code alone. Relationships, shared experiences, and trust remain essential ingredients in growing sustainable communities. Events like these create space for those connections to form and often become the starting point for future contributors, operators, and community leaders.

Looking Ahead

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India reinforced what we continue to hear from users and operators around the world. As organizations confront new challenges around AI infrastructure, edge computing, virtualization, and digital sovereignty, interest in open infrastructure platforms is growing.

OpenStack and StarlingX remain at the center of many of these conversations, providing organizations with open, community-driven alternatives for building and operating critical infrastructure.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth, joined the meetup, and shared their experiences. We look forward to continuing the conversation and seeing the OpenInfra community grow across India and beyond.