Avni Networks, the startup developing a "self-driving" model for moving applications among different clouds, has latched onto Citrix as a partner.

The partnership, announced yesterday, means Avni's Software-Define Cloud platform can deploy the Netscaler application delivery controller (ADC) alongside whatever application Avni is moving. Customers could do this themselves, of course, but Avni can automatically make the application "map seamlessly into Netscaler," says Avni CEO Rohini Kasturi.

This is different from the recently announced partnership with HP, in which the bigger, soon-to-be-split company is being use as a marketing conduit for Avni.

Avni's platform is designed for a world where enterprises use multiple cloud providers. The Software-Defined Cloud platform does Layer 4-7 work itself, much like an ADC, aiming to make it easier to move applications from one cloud to another.

Avni's financing is a bit of a mystery. For months, the company has claimed to have a Series A round of funding underway, but has yet to announce anything about it. "We're certainly making very good progress," Kasturi says.