Every year, we bring our global team together for a few days of strategy, connection, and a generous dose of sun. This year, the whole crew went to Cancún, Mexico 🇲🇽 for our FY27 company kick-off.

Teammates flew in from Europe, the U.S., and beyond. As a remote-first company, getting everyone in the same room is no small feat. But when we pull it off, something special happens. This year was no exception.

If you want a peek inside life at Upbound, here is what went down!

A Year Worth Celebrating

Before looking ahead, we took a moment to recognize how far we have come. FY26 was a big year, and the results speak for themselves:

• Launched UXP 2.0, delivering a more powerful and flexible foundation for our users

• Supported Crossplane in becoming a CNCF Graduated Project, a major milestone for the open-source community we care deeply about

• Published our vision on the Intelligent Control Plane, setting the direction for where the industry is headed

• Shipped Unified Testing and a range of features that raised the bar for what our platform can do

As Bassam put it, “We’re not just building a company, we’re building the foundation for how the next generation will run infrastructure. The Intelligent Control Plane is our boldest step yet, and I couldn’t be more excited about the team taking us there.”

The work we are doing is meaningful, the customers counting on us are real, and the people delivering it are exceptional.

Charting the Course Ahead

Kick-off is not about slide decks. It is about clarity.

Our VP of People, Leslie Chung, set the tone by grounding us in who we are and where we are headed. One of the highlights was welcoming our newest teammates, both in the room and joining virtually, each one standing up to share their name, their role, and what excites them about being at Upbound. Hearing fresh energy from people who chose to bet on us was the perfect way to open the week.

We then heard directly from customers and investors through video recordings, a powerful reminder of the trust people place in us and the responsibility that comes with it.

Our CEO, Bassam Tabbara, shared the company vision and growth plans for FY27. If you want a sneak peek, read about the Intelligent Control Plane. 

Our VP of Engineering, Sumbry, walked the team through everything shipped in FY26 and what is coming next. Exciting announcements are on the way, so stay on the lookout 👀. What we can say is that the momentum is real and the roadmap ahead is one we are genuinely excited about. 🚀

Our CRO, Sarah Strobhar, spoke with the team about the goals we set for FY26, where we landed, and outlined the vision and plans for FY27. She also brought us back to one of our core values, Champion the Customer; approaching every decision with empathy and anchoring our work in our customers’ real-world goals and challenges.

GTM teams aligned on what it will take to hit our H1 goals, anchored around what matters most: championing our customers and caring for the communities we serve. Product and Engineering went deep on execution and what is coming next. Real decisions were made in real time, with the people accountable for delivering them. That kind of alignment simply does not happen asynchronously, no matter how good your documentation is.

Humans in Charge, AI on the Job

Great teams are not just built in conference rooms. Between sessions, we made time to connect as people: exploring Mayan culture, swimming in cenotes, and sharing a sunset cruise together. Those moments are not a footnote to the strategy work. They are what make the strategy work.

Culture is not a perk; it is infrastructure. When people trust each other, feedback is more honest, decisions move faster, and everyone shows up more fully for the customers counting on us. It does not show up on a roadmap, but it absolutely shows up in the work.

Strategy sessions and roadmaps matter. But none of it happens without the people executing it every single day.

What stood out most in Cancún was not any single session or announcement. It was the team itself. Engineers, GTM folks, product thinkers, and operators, all genuinely invested in each other and in what we are building together. People who ask hard questions, push ideas further, and show up fully, whether they are in the room or joining via Zoom from halfway around the world.

That is not something you can manufacture. It is something you build over time, through honest work, shared wins, and yes, the occasional cenote swim. We are proud of this team, and we are just getting started.

To FY27 and Beyond

We left Cancún with sharper alignment, stronger relationships, and a clear path forward. Ideas sparked over tacos made their way into our roadmap. Commitments made in person carried more weight than any async update ever could.

It is a great time to be a part of Upbound. The cloud-native ecosystem is evolving rapidly, our customers are tackling increasingly complex infrastructure challenges, and we are building the platform that helps them win. Every bet we made this week, every decision we aligned on, and every relationship we deepened in Cancún move us closer to delivering the kind of customer value that compounds over time.

This kick-off reflected who we are: a team that takes ownership seriously, cares deeply about each other and the communities we serve, and is not afraid to be honest about what is working and what needs improvement.

Real talk. Real decisions.

If this sounds like your kind of environment, we are growing. Explore our open roles and come build with us. Maybe we will see you at the next tropical kick-off. ☀️🌊