SDxCentral flags VMware CTO Kit Colbert—who spent over two decades at VMware leading projects like vMotion and the Cloud-Native Apps unit (later Tanzu) before becoming CTO in 2021 and departing after Broadcom’s acquisition in 2024—has invested in and joined the board of VergeIO, a company positioning itself as a VMware alternative. VergeIO markets its VergeOS as a unified private cloud operating system that consolidates compute, storage, networking, and tenancy into a single codebase, pitching itself as an “exit” for VMware customers frustrated by Broadcom-era cost increases, licensing changes, and contract revisions. Colbert praised the product as production-grade and well-suited to both traditional and emerging container and AI workloads, while VergeIO founder Greg Campbell framed his board appointment as validation that escaping the “hypervisor tax” requires a full private cloud OS rather than a cheaper hypervisor. The article notes several customers—including Topgolf, NETdepot, and Alinsco Insurance—have already migrated away from VMware.