k0s is a Kubernetes distribution from the k0sproject, delivered as a single binary with no dependencies beyond the Linux kernel. It runs on bare-metal servers, on-premises, at the edge and in public or private clouds, and the project site describes it as CNCF-certified. Organisations install and operate k0s on their own infrastructure, which makes it an option for teams that want a self-managed Kubernetes platform without a mandatory commercial distribution such as Red Hat OpenShift.
The project originated at Mirantis, which also provides commercial support for k0s. Mirantis is based in Campbell, California, and describes itself as privately held; the website names no majority shareholder. k0s is released under the Apache 2.0 licence and its source code is on GitHub, so organisations can review it and run it without a control plane hosted by a vendor. Because the software runs entirely on the customer's own infrastructure, digital sovereignty depends mainly on that infrastructure and on the chosen support contract rather than on a US cloud service.