The future of writing software is shifting towards Cloud Development Environments (CDEs), which offer consistently reproducible, instant, and ephemeral development environments. Gitpod's $25m Series A funding led by Tom Preston-Werner aims to promote the adoption of CDEs as a standard for modern software development. The company believes that CDEs can improve developer experience with automation, collaboration, and security benefits provided by the cloud. Key principles of CDEs include ephemeral over long-lived, reproducible over cobbled together, effortless over arduous, independent over tangled, abundant over scarce, powerful over constrained, equitable over requiring specialized skills, and collaborative over solitary. Gitpod plans to focus on performance and security, integrations, and collaboration in the future.