Kotlin Multiplatform Development

The KMP Experts Who Build the Tools Other Developers Use

Lightning Kite authors and maintains KiteUI, an open-source Kotlin Multiplatform UI framework, and Lightning Server, an open-source typed backend framework. Our team works on KMP at the framework and application layers, then uses that tooling in production projects.

Kotlin Multiplatform is a JetBrains technology for sharing code across iOS, Android, web, and server while retaining access to each platform's native capabilities. It lets a product share business rules, networking, data models, and other application code instead of maintaining those pieces independently for every target.

The documented Vanden Bussche Irrigation rewrite shows the result: we consolidated custom PHP, Laravel, and React Native systems into one KMP application using KiteUI and Lightning Server. The new system serves web, iOS, and Android with 34% less first-party code. See the code and platform comparison in the Vanden Bussche case study.

What You Get with Kotlin Multiplatform

One Codebase, Fewer Headaches

Write your business logic, data handling, and networking once and ship it to iOS, Android, and web. In practice that means a single place to fix bugs, one set of tests for the core of your app, and one team making changes that reach every platform. You spend less on development and maintenance and avoid the drift that happens when three codebases slowly diverge.

Native Feel on Every Platform

Your users get an app that behaves the way they expect on each device — iOS users see an iOS experience, Android users an Android one, and web visitors get a fast, crawlable site. There are no web views or generic “cross-platform” UI that feels slightly off. We use KiteUI so the same product can ship as native mobile and as a web app that search engines can index, without maintaining separate frontends.

Backend and Clients That Stay in Sync

When your API changes, your mobile and web clients are updated to match. We use Lightning Server so the backend and every client share a single definition of your API. That means fewer integration bugs, less time chasing “works on iOS but not Android,” and faster iteration because you are not manually keeping docs and clients in sync.

Realtime That Works

We have shipped chat, live dashboards, emergency alerts, and live auctions in production. If your app needs instant updates — messaging, collaboration, or live data — we have the experience and the tooling to make it reliable and responsive for every user, on every platform.

When Multiplatform Is the Right Fit

Kotlin Multiplatform is a strong fit when you need native performance and a real web presence (including SEO) from one codebase, without the trade-offs of hybrid or bridge-based frameworks. We work across many technologies and will tell you honestly if KMP is not the best choice for your project — but for most apps that need to reach iOS, Android, and the web, it is what we recommend and what we know best.