Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery called pods. Kubernetes can manage pods across a cluster of machines, providing scheduling, deployment, scaling, load balancing, volume mounting and networking. It is widely used by companies like Google, CERN and in large projects like processing images and analyzing particle interactions. Kubernetes is portable, can span multiple cloud providers, and continues growing to support new workloads and use cases.