Every AI Cloud-Native Expert Starts with Kubernetes | API Gateways vs Service Mesh Explained
From Modern Web by Modern Web
September 23, 2025 · 36 min
About this episode
Danny Thompson interviews Marino Wijay about cloud-native development, Kubernetes, and the differences between API gateways and service meshes.
Danny Thompson sits down with Marino Wijay, Staff Solutions Architect at Kong and CNCF Ambassador, for a wide-ranging conversation on modern cloud-native development. They start with Kubernetes as the entry point into the ecosystem and explore what it really means to be a CNCF ambassador. Marino explains the difference between an API gateway and a service mesh, when small teams should adopt each, and why managed services often make more sense than running infrastructure yourself.The discussion then shifts to reliability and observability, with a focus on automation, pipelines, and creating a seamless developer experience. Finally, Marino shares lessons from working with enterprises rolling out AI, covering vector caching, cost optimization, latency concerns, and the importance of data governance when dealing with LLM traffic. It’s an episode full of practical advice for builders navigating the realities of APIs, microservices, and AI in production today.Key points from this episode:- Kubernetes remains the entry point into the cloud-native ecosystem, giving teams the foundation to operationalize applications and join the CNCF community.- Marino breaks down the distinction between…
People in this episode
Host: Danny Thompson
Guest: Marino Wijay
Topics covered
- cloud-native development
- Kubernetes
- API gateways
- service mesh
- reliability
- observability
- AI in production
Keywords
- Kubernetes
- API gateway
- service mesh
- cloud-native
- reliability
- observability
- AI
- microservices
- automation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Kong, CNCF, Kuma
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