5 DevOps startups to bet your career on in 2019

Valuation: $90 million
Total raised to date: $34.84 million
Year founded: 2014
HQ: Oakland, CA

What it does: LaunchDarkly helps developers test and manage how new features get deployed to an app's users. With LaunchDarkly, customers can quickly manage features, switching them on and off for select batches of test users.

Why it's hot: When LaunchDarkly first tried to raise seed funding in 2014, investors laughed. But fast forward to now, and DevOps is all the rage. LaunchDarkly, a DevOps startup, has proved that it can help with the practice of deploying code faster, something that is going to become increasingly important in the years to come.

Valuation: $100 million
Total raised to date: $32.04 million
Year founded: 2015
HQ: London

What it does: Snyk automates the process of finding and fixing vulnerabilities in open source software. In other words, it continuously keeps a lookout for security issues in your code — and fixes them.

Why it's hot: This year, Snyk raised $22 million on a $100 million valuation. As breaches and vulnerabilities become more common and continue to make headlines, more venture capitalists are investing in security. This kind of approach will help DevOps teams make sure their software is secure, even as they accelerate the rate at which they deliver code.

Valuation: $1.12 billion
Total raised to date: $165.82 million
Year founded: 2011
HQ: San Francisco

What it does: GitLab is used for project planning to help developers collaborate on code, as well as managing and monitoring code.

Why it's hot: Forrester named GitLab as the leader in continuous integration or continuous development — practices that allow developers to test and push code to customers faster and more often. DevOps is where investors want to throw their money, and GitLab is a leader in the space. Just look at this past year: in September, GitLab closed $100 million in a round led by Iconiq Capital, and just three months later, Goldman Sachs invested another $20 million.

Valuation: $1.3 billion
Total raised to date: $173.70 million
Year founded: 2009
HQ: San Francisco

What it does: PagerDuty helps companies quickly respond to IT incidents and alerts the best people to respond to any given incident, giving information about the incident and providing analysis — a vital tool in a DevOps workflow, where incidents have to be resolved quickly so the pace can continue.

Why it's hot: PagerDuty has been named one of the top companies in DevOps — a term that combines development and operations. DevOps is a gold mine for investors. In September, PagerDuty raised $90 million, and rumor has it that it's gearing up for IPO.