Kubernetes (often abbreviated as "K8s") is an open-source platform for container orchestration and management. Developed by Google and now managed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Kubernetes provides automated deployment, scaling, and management of application containers across multiple hosts.

Here are some key concepts and features of Kubernetes:

1. Container Orchestration: Kubernetes enables automated deployment, updating, and scaling of containerized applications. It manages containers across a group of hosts and ensures applications are always available by restarting them when needed or replicating them on other hosts.

2. Declarative Configuration: Kubernetes uses YAML-based configuration files to specify the desired state description of applications and infrastructure. Developers can declaratively define the desired resources such as pods, services, and deployments, and Kubernetes ensures that the actual state matches the declarative state.

3. Pods and Services: A pod is the smallest deployment unit in Kubernetes and can contain one or more containers. Kubernetes manages pods as a group and enables scaling of pods as well as load balancing services through services.

4. Scalability and Load Balancing: Kubernetes provides features for automatic scaling of applications based on CPU usage, custom metrics, or other parameters. It also supports load balancing for evenly distributing traffic across different pods.

5. Self-healing: Kubernetes continuously monitors the state of applications and automates the recovery of faulty containers or pods. It can also automatically detect and replace faulty nodes to ensure availability.

6. Platform Independence: Kubernetes is platform-independent and can be deployed in various environments, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments. It supports different container runtime environments such as Docker, containerd, and CRI-O.

Overall, Kubernetes enables efficient management and scaling of containerized applications in a distributed environment and has become the standard platform for container orchestration in the industry.