Nutanix’s August 29, 2016 announcement named two startups: PernixData, which focused on data acceleration and analytics, and Calm.io, which focused on DevOps automation. Their deal statuses differed: Nutanix had signed a definitive agreement to acquire PernixData, subject to customary closing conditions, while its Calm.io acquisition had already closed.
What did PernixData bring to Nutanix?
PernixData developed software for data acceleration and analytics. Nutanix described the company as a pioneer in scale-out data acceleration and said the planned combination would help it build an advanced data stack, keeping data and applications close to support performance and flexible scaling.
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Nutanix also said it planned to enhance its Application Mobility Fabric, with the goal of moving workloads across virtual and cloud environments. Those were announced development plans; the release does not establish that the proposed features shipped or achieved those outcomes.
PernixData CEO and co-founder Poojan Kumar said the company’s software had helped “hundreds of customers virtualize their applications without compromising performance and visibility.” That is Kumar’s claim in Nutanix’s announcement, not an independently verified customer count.
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What did Calm.io bring?
Calm.io specialized in DevOps automation. Nutanix said it intended to add the startup’s cloud automation and management capabilities to its platform, with application- and service-level orchestration and lifecycle management across virtual machines, containers, and microservices.
The planned additions also included policy-based governance, reporting, and auditing. Calm.io founder and CEO Aaditya Sood said the companies shared a vision of datacenter infrastructure that was “fully automated, simple to deploy and easy-to-use.” His comment appears in Nutanix’s announcement and represents the founder’s view.
How the two acquisitions fit Nutanix’s strategy
The startups addressed different parts of Nutanix’s platform ambitions:
| Company | Primary capability | Announced platform contribution | Status on August 29, 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PernixData | Data acceleration and analytics | A data-focused stack and planned workload-mobility enhancements | Definitive agreement signed; closing remained subject to customary conditions |
| Calm.io | DevOps automation | Planned orchestration, lifecycle management, governance, reporting, and auditing | Acquisition closed |
Nutanix presented the acquisitions as a way to add technology, products, and engineering talent to its enterprise cloud platform. Its stated direction paired data acceleration and application mobility with cloud automation and application-centered orchestration. Nutanix said these additions would help combine cloud-like agility and automation with the control and security of on-premises infrastructure; that was the company’s rationale and intended benefit, not an independently measured result.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe August 29 announcement did not disclose purchase prices or provide comparative performance data, so it does not support ranking the startups’ value or impact.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Ryax Technologies one of the two startups?
No. Nutanix announced a separate acquisition of Ryax Technologies on September 22, 2026, a decade after the PernixData and Calm.io announcement. Nutanix said it planned to integrate Ryax’s GPU utilization and smart scheduling capabilities into Nutanix Kubernetes Platform and Nutanix Enterprise AI. Ryax is not one of the two startups named in the 2016 story.
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