Aloha, Redpanda FY27 company kick-off

Redpanda may be a remote-first company, but humans are the heart and soul of everything we do. Now in the AI era, genuine human connection is more important than ever, and team bonding happens best in person. That’s why every February we lure our pandas out of their dens to learn, play, and get inspired at our company kick-off (CKO). 

This year, we exchanged sandy Arizona for sunny San Diego, where 160+ pandas happily settled into the Paradise Point resort. For three days, we replaced screen time with sunscreen, coding with coffee chats, and soaked in the lessons to ride the next big wave at Redpanda. 

Here’s a peek into what happened at Redpanda’s fourth CKO and a feel of the unique company culture we pride ourselves on.

Aloha, Redpandas!

To kickstart the day, we heard from the “big kahuna”—aka the big boss—Alex Gallego, who skipped onto the Hawaiian-themed stage to the tune of Bad Bunny’s NuevaYol, hyped to set our north star for FY27. But before pouncing on new goals, Alex whisked us back to appreciate how far we’ve already come. 

In FY26, Redpanda introduced the Agentic Data Plane (ADP): a new category of AI infrastructure that makes it simple and secure to connect AI agents with enterprise data and systems. 

We also shipped powerful new features for Redpanda Cloud, brought enterprise-grade security to Redpanda Serverless on AWS, delivered simpler disaster recovery in Redpanda 25.3, made it easier than ever to build an MCP server, and added new connectors to Redpanda Connect’s rapidly-growing list. Not to mention welcoming Oxla to the Redpanda brand. (And that’s only scratching the surface.)    

Now with our sights keenly set on building the backbone of the autonomous workforce, Alex underscored the importance of reinventing how we work using AI and redefining the way we work together—because “a strong team is a winning team.”

Next up was our casual yet genius CTO, Tyler Akidau, armed with graphs and diagrams to ensure every panda (old and new) comfortably understood how ADP works, where we’re going as a company, and how we plan on getting there. We also heard from a familiar board member, Dave Munichiello from Google Ventures, who kindly noted that Redpanda is “one of the most interesting AI companies today.” (We wholeheartedly agree, of course.)

The following keynotes whirled through market overviews, teased at brain-tingling opportunities in AI, and then closed with a thoughtful keynote on the science of achieving greater things, based on the book by Adam Grant.

Between the memes, a Moana-inspired panda movie, and even an in-house skit based on The Office, each presentation struck a perfect balance between fun and informative. Not only did they give us radical clarity on who we are as a company and where we’re headed, but also gave newcomers an authentic feel of what it really means to be a Redpanda.

Making waves with Johnson Controls 

To learn how we’re truly doing as a company, we invited our customer Suresh Mothikuru, VP of technology, architecture, infrastructure, and operations at Johnson Controls.

For the unfamiliar, Johnson Controls is a global technology leader in energy efficiency, decarbonization, and thermal management. Two years ago, the company switched to Redpanda—instantly simplifying its architecture, saving 50-80% on costs, and enabling top-tier performance at global scale. (For the full story, read the case study on how Redpanda helps Johnson Controls power the future of autonomous buildings.)

On stage, Suresh sat with our VP of global customer success to chat about his experience with Redpanda, what we’re doing right, and his thoughts on AI within the industry.  

After joking that he felt wildly overdressed after spotting some shorts and a pair of bright orange Crocs in the room, Suresh explained how a company spanning 140 years manages to stay at the forefront of technology. Here’s where adaptability becomes a superpower, along with always looking for the “next smartest move.” Tristan chimed in that Redpanda feels the same way, referencing our recent shift to building the future of the agentic enterprise.

The conversation then moved to the imperative question of governance in the AI era. He described how “everyone says they have the best AI solution,” but only Redpanda has been able to walk him through an AI agent’s lifecycle and how an enterprise can realistically address the issues with infrastructure, data, and security. 

To conclude, Suresh assured that he plans to partner with Redpanda for the long haul. As long as Redpanda takes care of him, he’d take care of Redpanda. Naturally, our support team got a shout out for their significant role in that relationship.

Mahalo, Suresh. (That means “thank you.”)

Hacking in paradise (point)

Redpanda is pioneering the Agentic Data Plane, and the best way to deliver the smoothest experience for our agentic customers is to use our products ourselves. 

In that spirit, pandas from Engineering, Product, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Finance, and everyone in between were split into smaller groups for an AI hackathon led by People Catalysts.

‍The challenge: create a usable AI agent that solves a real, day-to-day problem. 

Most participants had never built on the Redpanda platform before, but that didn’t stop every team from producing a working prototype within a few hours. Not low-effort agents—truly useful ones that integrate systems like Salesforce and Zendesk to perform meaningful, practical tasks. A rather brilliant testament to how simple our products are in practice.

With the possibilities of AI swiftly transitioning from unimaginable to obvious, this session demonstrated that it was no longer a question of how to build agents, but what agent to build next.

Mai tais and team time

Be a good human. Win as a team. Those are two big company values, and at Redpanda, we practice what we preach. At every CKO, our lovely People team connects us with a local community so we can do our part to help a worthy cause.

This year, the goal was to put together “STEAM kits”—bags filled with all the parts needed for STEM-curious kids to build an LED-powered butterfly. However, being such competitive pandas, it was a bit more involved than simply building kits at a table. 

With the mission in mind, everyone split into teams for an escape-room style adventure around the resort, where each area presented teams with a puzzle or game. Once a team had cracked it, the organizers would award them with a kit item and send them running to the next location. (There’s nothing quite like watching your CEO sprint past wearing a lei and with an armful of bags.)

Aside from running to get ahead, there was also golf, a bit of math, and a few spilled drinks—but eventually everyone grabbed all the items needed to assemble the STEAM kits. By the end, we proudly filled over 300 kits that will reach the hands of local elementary school kids.

‍That’ll do, pandas. That’ll do.

Sun, sand, and side quests

Our CKOs aren’t just for defining the coming year at Redpanda; they're also for letting people connect in their own way. Running clubs, golf, yoga, meditation, and even sound baths brought together groups that normally wouldn’t interact online.

From visiting our animal counterpart at the San Diego Zoo to huddling around bonfires on the beach, there was no shortage of fun activities going on. On some evenings, smaller packs shuttled downtown to explore San Diego's nightlife. Some hit the pool tables (where Marketing lost horribly to Sales), while others grabbed a mic and made a name for themselves on the karaoke stage. (If you haven’t heard our engineers rap Crazy Town, we strongly recommend it.)

On the final evening, we gathered one last time for a company-wide dinner where a coconut assigned each person to a table (don’t ask). Between the generous buffets and animated chatter, a local group then treated us to traditional Hawaiian songs and performances—even dragging a few unsuspecting pandas on-stage to perform a Haka.

The remainder of our last “luau” was spent chatting around the fire, taking group photos, crafting keyrings and hats, and keeping the bartenders on their toes. It was the perfect ending to an action-packed few days, and a much-needed space to kick back and immerse ourselves in the eclectic community Redpanda is known for.

From island time to go time

With three days of insights and inspiration behind us, our pandas left San Diego with a suitcase full of swag, a brain buzzing with new ideas, and a heart warmed by a renewed sense of connection.

Because underneath all the AI-focused sessions and activities, this year’s CKO was a generous reminder of what makes Redpanda a special place to work: the people. 

Each day was uniquely designed to bring out our best qualities and encourage us to embody what Aloha really means: a way of life based on kindness, unity, and respect. This aligns perfectly with our company values and flows through everything we do here at Redpanda—from how we support our customers to how we build our products—and, above all, how we treat each other.

The bottom line is that you have to feel like a team to win as a team, and after this CKO, we’re revved up and ready to take on the ambitious year ahead, together. If you want to join us, check Redpanda Careers.

Until next year, Aloha!

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Stay in the loop with what’s new with Redpanda and connect with us on LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky. 

‍To nosey our previous CKOs, check these out:

• ‍FY25 company kick-off
• ‍We meet again: Redpanda’s FY26 company kick-off