Developer Tools · sub-niche
Container build cache tools.
Docker builds in CI are still slow. The remote cache layer is where the speedup hides.
Why now
Monorepos and AI-heavy CI have made Docker build times the single biggest CI tax. Caching layers compound — every team that adopts saves real money.
What the signal looks like
Repos with BuildKit configuration tutorials, distributed cache backends (S3, GCS, R2), and benchmarks showing 5-10x build speedups.
Public examples
We name publicprojects + categories only — never founders we track inside the paid product. The buyer’s edge stays inside the product.
- Depot.dev — managed remote build cache
- Earthly's BuildKit-based cache layer
- Self-hosted BuildKit + S3 cache patterns
What this displaces
GitHub Actions cache + a Dockerfile and prayers.
Our build-vs-invest call
Niche but durable. Buyers are platform teams that benchmark CI cost weekly. Hard to displace once installed. Fund if you see a repo gaining stars from named SREs across multiple companies.
Common questions about this niche
- How do you make money?
- Hosted cache with bandwidth + storage markup. $500-50k/mo per customer.
- Is this competitive with Bazel?
- Adjacent. Bazel users have their own cache story. The wedge is the Dockerfile crowd.
- What kills this?
- GitHub shipping fast Actions cache or Docker shipping a free hosted cache. Both are possible.
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