Business data is growing exponentially, and companies of all sizes are migrating larger and increasingly complex datasets to the cloud. Established data management solutions primarily rely on general-purpose snapshots that duplicate files indiscriminately, regardless of the data type, making restoration a cumbersome process.
This is why we are excited to partner with Plakar, a Paris-based open-source backup and restore solution designed to simplify data protection for businesses of all sizes. Co-founded by Julien Mangeard and Gilles Chehade, Plakar is on a mission to give every organisation the freedom to backup any data, anywhere. It recently announced the general availability of its first stable release.
Plakar’s modern architecture enables users to protect and orchestrate various types of data across a diverse set of environments in a fast, reliable, and resource-efficient way. Plakar protects anything—from local files to multi-cloud AI pipelines—while keeping every snapshot lean, encrypted, and instantly recoverable. It preserves complete application and AI‑pipeline context; deduplicates and compresses data inline; encrypts it end‑to‑end; and organizes it into a structured, queryable repository.
Unlike traditional backup solutions, where data becomes a dormant cost, Plakar transforms backup storage into an active, valuable resource. Its architecture enables seamless reuse of protected data for production workflows, such as AI model training, data analytics, compliance auditing, or offloading intensive tasks from production systems, unlocking new operational efficiencies and accelerating innovation.
“With Plakar, we’re providing an open‑source solution that simplifies backup and restore processes while making enterprise‑grade data resilience accessible to businesses of all sizes,” says Julien Mangeard, co-founder and CEO of Plakar. “This product launch and funding announcement is a significant milestone, and we are thrilled to begin this journey with the support of such renowned partners and investors.”
Plakar’s engine, called Kloset, turns each backup into a compact, self‑contained, immutable data unit that travels with its own structure, metadata, and encryption. Like a container for data, it removes the need for external coordination or dependencies—enabling fast, secure, and portable backups across any environment, from local files to distributed cloud systems.
Plakar’s end-to-end workflow keeps every backup lean, secure, and instantly recoverable with the following features:
- Data Collection: Immutable, content‑addressed snapshots capture incremental versions of datasets and model checkpoints so experiments remain fully reproducible while slashing redundant storage by up to 90 %.
- Data Visualization: Snapshots are browsable and verifiable without restoring, and restores are precise and fast.
- Data Security: Plakar uses the same end‑to‑end encryption to ensure compliance with stringent data‑protection regulations.
- Resource Efficiency: By combining advanced deduplication and compression techniques, Plakar minimizes storage requirements, allowing for more restore points with less space.
- Interoperability: Plakar integrates seamlessly with various storage environments, including cloud‑based storage, S3‑compatible solutions, local servers, NAS, SAN, tape drives, and Kubernetes volumes.
On why we partnered with Plakar, our Partner Sia Houchangnia, comments:
“In an era where AI systems are generating and processing unprecedented volumes of data, ensuring the integrity and security of that data is paramount. Plakar’s approach of combining open‑source flexibility with enterprise‑grade features aligns with our belief in empowering developers and businesses with accessible, reliable, and efficient tools.”
We are excited to lead Plakar’s $3 million pre‑seed funding round, joined by HelloWorld, Kima Ventures, OPRTRS and others, in addition to renowned angel investors, including Olivier Pomel (Datadog), Solomon Hykes (Docker), and Alexandre Yazdi (Voodoo).
With the new funding, Plakar plans to expand its engineering team to accelerate feature development and enhance platform scalability. Furthermore, the company aims to grow its customer base by targeting AI-focused startups and enterprises seeking efficient, secure, and reproducible data management solutions.
To learn more about Plakar and its vision for the future of data backups visit plakar.io and read the stable release announcement blog post.