Tempo
NewOpen-source, high-scale distributed tracing backend
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
- Tempo ranks #12 of 45 in Observability with an AI visibility score of 7.1 (SlateIndex, Nov 3, 2026).
- Tempo is most visible on Google AI Mode (11.5) and least on Perplexity (1.9).
- AI engines name Tempo in 11 of the 30 Observability buyer prompts SlateIndex tracks.
- grafana.com is the source AI engines cite most in answers about Tempo, with 11 citations.
About
Company details for Tempo
Tempo is an open-source, high-scale distributed tracing backend that needs only object storage to run. It supports TraceQL and accepts Jaeger, Zipkin, Kafka and OpenTelemetry formats. It lets users search traces, generate metrics from spans, and link traces with logs and metrics. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0-only and also powers Grafana Cloud Traces and Grafana Enterprise Traces. It ranks #12 of 45 in Observability on SlateIndex and has a visibility score of 7.1 in the latest weekly run.
It has raised about $1100M. Its differentiator: needs only object storage to run.
- Website
- grafana.com
- Categories
- Observability
- Company size
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Headquarters
- New York, NY
- Company type
- Division of Grafana Labs
- Funding
- Series E · $1100M raised
- Deployment
- Managed as Grafana Cloud or self-hosted on Kubernetes via Helm
- Platforms
- Kubernetes
- Compliance
- SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 22301, PCI DSS v4.0.1, GDPR, FedRAMP High, TISAX, CSA STAR, TX-RAMP Level 2
Read from pitchbook.com, grafana.com, github.com, middleware.io, enrichlayer.com, trust.grafana.com · refreshed Nov 3, 2026.
AI visibility
Latest weekly run · Nov 3 · next run Nov 9
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days, with up to 7 competitors. Click a name to hide or show its line.
Changes appear after the second weekly run in Observability. Datadog leads the category at 69.5%.
AI mentions & citations
Recent answers that name Tempo
Which observability platform has the best reviews?
Best for: Engineering-driven teams that want flexible, open-source-backed visualization (Prometheus, Loki, Tempo) without managing the underlying backend infrastructure.
Alternatives to the most popular observability platform
Powered by projects like Grafana (visualization), Loki (logs), Mimir (metrics), and Tempo (traces), it provides a fully managed telemetry stack that integrates smoothly with OpenTelemetry and offers predictable,…
Which observability platform offers a free trial?
Grafana Cloud : Offers a permanent free tier alongside managed trials for exploring metrics, logs, and traces using the LGTM stack (Loki, Grafana, Tempo, Mimir).
What are the best observability tools in 2026?
Tempo for distributed tracing.
Best observability platform for enterprise
Prometheus, Loki, Tempo and Grafana ecosystem.
Alternatives to the most popular observability platform
Prometheus, Loki, Tempo and Mimir.
Compare the leading observability platforms
Key Trait: Positioned high on vision for its composable data approach, combining Prometheus, Loki (logs), and Tempo (traces) into a flexible dashboarding framework.[](https://grafana.com/analyst-reports/gartner-magic-…
Most affordable observability platform that is still reliable
The Gold Standard for Open-Source/Low Cost: Grafana Stack (Grafana + Prometheus + Loki/Tempo)
Products & features
What Tempo sells
Tempo
Open-source, high-scale distributed tracing backend that needs only object storage to run, with TraceQL query support.
Grafana Cloud Traces
Managed tracing service in Grafana Cloud powered by Tempo.
Grafana Enterprise Traces
Self-managed, scalable and secure tracing service powered by Tempo.
Strengths engines cite
- Open-source and cost-effective
- Mature Prometheus, Loki and Grafana ecosystem
- Distributed tracing for traces
- Integrates smoothly with OpenTelemetry
- Managed option with a permanent free tier
Target market & buyers
Notable customers include Anthropic, ASOS, Citigroup, Lovable, NVIDIA, Salesforce, Microsoft, Bloomberg.
Funding & recent developments
Funding
| Round | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Series A | 2018 | $24M |
| Seed | 2018 | $1M |
| Series B | 2020 | $50M |
| Series C | 2021 | $220M |
| Series D | 2022 | $240M |
| Series D extension | 2024 | $270M |
| Series E | 2026 | $250M |
| Latest known round | Total raised |
|---|---|
| Series E | $1100M |
Recent developments
- Oct 2026CompanyGrafana Labs invests in OllyGarden seed round
Grafana Labs invested in OllyGarden's seed round.
- Jul 2026CompanyGrafana Labs named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms
Named a Leader for the third consecutive year.
- Feb 2026FundingGrafana Labs raises $250M Series E
Series E of $250M, dated by SEC Form D first-sale date; other sources say 12 March 2026.
Competitive landscape
How Tempo compares with its top three alternatives
Tempo most often appears alongside Grafana, Loki, Datadog in AI answers.
What AI answers say
Sentiment and themes from the answers that mention this brand
Positive 6% · Neutral 88% · Mixed 6% of 18 engine answers that mention Tempo
Praised for
- Open-source and cost-effective
- Mature Prometheus, Loki and Grafana ecosystem
- Distributed tracing for traces
- Integrates smoothly with OpenTelemetry
- Managed option with a permanent free tier
Criticised for
- Demands significant internal engineering time to maintain and scale
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Tempo AI visibility profile”, https://slateindex.ai/brand/tempo, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.