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Crazy Fast Browsers-as-a-Service

Kernel is the best place in the world to launch web agents. We handle the hard parts of running browser infrastructure in the cloud so you don’t have to: spinning up browsers quickly, responsive read/write live view, logs, headless vs. headful mode, replays, residential proxies, and more. Our API allows developers to instantly launch browsers in the cloud, so you can focus on your core product logic rather than the infra underneath. Our customers use Kernel to launch QA agents, vertical-specific agents that automate back office processes, and more. We're open source, HIPAA-compliant (SOC2 Type 2 pending), & compatible with every browser/web agent framework (Playwright, Puppeteer, CUA, Browser Use, Magnitude, etc). Check us out —> https://github.com/onkernel/kernel-images
Active Founders
Catherine Jue
Catherine Jue
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder and CEO @ Kernel. Previously co-founder @ Sway Finance (S16) Book a demo with me --> https://calendly.com/catherine-jue/kernel-demo-idhyr catherine@onkernel.com — preface any emails with [YC] to make sure I see it 🙏
Rafael Garcia
Rafael Garcia
Co-founder & CTO
Co-founder and CTO at Kernel. We're making browser infra fast. Previously co-founder and CTO at Clever (S12, exited for $500m).
Company Launches
Kernel: Crazy Fast Browser Infrastructure
See original launch post

Hey everyone! We’re Catherine and Raf, the founders of Kernel.

https://youtu.be/vexAn3_KYvc

🤝 TLDR:

We make an API to instantly launch browsers in the cloud so AI can use the internet just like humans do.

🚀 What’s Kernel?

Kernel is the best place in the world to launch web agents and browser automations. We handle the hard parts of running browser infrastructure in the cloud so you don’t have to: spinning up browsers quickly, responsive read/write live view, logs, headless vs. headful mode, residential proxies, and more.

Our edge is an infrastructure platform that’s flexible, observable, and insanely fast from day one:

  • Performance - web automations and Computer Use agents can launch and connect to Kernel browsers in 300 milliseconds
  • Isolation x telemetry - Kernel browsers run in isolated virtual machines and ship with live views & replays so you can see exactly what your agent saw and take control when needed
  • Agent runtime - launch your web agent on Kernel’s code execution platform to seamlessly connect it to a browser in the cloud
  • Simple, clear pricing - pay only for the resources you use. Our straightforward pricing model makes it easy to predict usage costs

⚡️ How does it work?

Kernel’s API makes it simple to launch browsers in the cloud and automate anything on the internet. We work with any browser/web agent framework: Playwright, Puppeteer, Browser Use, Magnitude, and more. Users love our platform for:

  • Instant browser spin-ups on-demand
  • VM logs & read/write live view
  • Video replays
  • Browser session reuse
  • Residential proxies and auto-CAPTCHA solvers
  • Turn any agent into a https endpoint — we host your agent, you invoke it on-demand with a prompt
  • & much more soon!

👨‍💻👩‍💻 The Team

Raf and Catherine started Kernel from the shared belief that cloud infrastructure can be 100x better. We believe that well-designed, opinionated tooling unlocks superpowers, and we’re passionate about building best-in-class infrastructure for the next generation of AI applications.

Before starting Kernel, Raf was the co-founder/CTO of Clever (YC S12), which exited for $500m in 2021. Catherine was the co-founder of Sway Finance (YC S16) and most recently led Cash App’s team of forward deployed engineers and Cash App’s docs platform.

🙏 Our Ask

If you:

  • Run browser automations
  • Built a web agent locally and want to run it in production
  • Maintain browser containers but want to outsource the infrastructure because it’s not core to your IP

Check out our platform to sign-up, or schedule a demo with us here.

Kernel
Founded:2025
Batch:Summer 2025
Team Size:6
Status:
Active
Location:San Francisco
Primary Partner:Tyler Bosmeny