This Proxy Statement includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this Proxy Statement other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial condition, our business strategy and plans, market growth, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “aim,” “may,” “will,” “should,“would,” “expect,” “believe,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seeks,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.

These statements are not historical facts and are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, estimates, and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect our future results and financial condition, see “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023,2024, and our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, which are available on the Investor Relations page of our website at https://ir.gitlab.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

All forward-looking statements contained herein are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Proxy Statement or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

In accordance with SEC rules, we are using the Internet as our primary means of furnishing proxy materials to stockholders. Consequently, most stockholders will not receive paper copies of our proxy materials. We will instead send these stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials with instructions for accessing the proxy materials, including our Proxy Statement and annual report, and voting via the Internet. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials also provides information on how stockholders may obtain paper copies of our proxy materials if they so choose. We believe this rule makes the proxy distribution process more efficient, less costly, and helps in conserving natural resources.

The holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock (voting together as a single class) entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting as of the Record Date must be present at the Annual Meeting in order to hold the Annual Meeting and conduct business. This presence is called a quorum. Your shares are counted as present at the Annual Meeting if you are present and vote at the Annual Meeting or if you have properly submitted a proxy.

If you do not vote and you hold your shares in street name, and your broker does not have discretionary power to vote your shares, your shares may constitute “broker non-votes” (as described above) and will not be counted in determining the number of shares necessary for approval of the proposals. However, broker non-votes will be counted for the purpose of establishing a quorum for the Annual Meeting.

If you receive more than one proxy card, your shares are registered in more than one name or are registered in different accounts. To make certain all of your shares are voted, please follow the instructions included on each proxy card and vote each proxy card by telephone, through the Internet or by mail. If you requested or received paper proxy materials and you intend to vote by mail, please complete, sign and return each proxy card you received to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

We will pay the expenses of soliciting proxies, including preparation, assembly, printing and mailing of this Proxy Statement, the proxy and any other information furnished to stockholders. Following the original mailing of the soliciting materials, we and our agents, including directors, officers, and other team members, without additional compensation, may solicit proxies by mail, email, telephone, facsimile, by other similar means or in person. Following the original mailing of the soliciting materials, we will request brokers, custodians, nominees and other record holders to forward copies of the soliciting materials to persons for whom they hold shares and to request authority for the exercise of proxies. In such cases, we, upon the request of the record holders, will reimburse such holders for their reasonable expenses. If you choose to access the proxy materials or vote through the Internet, you are responsible for any Internet access charges you may incur.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that our board of directors shall be free to choose its chair in any way that it considers to be in the best interests of our company, and that the nominating and corporate governance committee periodically considers the leadership structure of our board of directors and makes such recommendations to our board of directors with respect thereto as appropriate. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines also provide that, when the positions of chair and chief executive officer are held by the same person, our board of directors shall designate a “lead independent director” by a majority vote of the independent directors. In cases in which the chair and chief executive officer are the same person, the chair schedules and sets the agenda for meetings of our board of directors in consultation with the lead independent director, and the chair, or if the chair is not present, the lead independent director, chairs such meetings. The responsibilities of the lead independent director include: presiding at executive sessions of independent directors, serving as a liaison between the chair and the independent directors, consulting with the chair regarding the information sent to our board of directors in connection with its meetings, having the authority to call meetings of the independent directors, being available under appropriate circumstances for consultation and direct communication with stockholders, and performing such other functions and responsibilities as requested by our board of directors from time to time.

Currently, our board of directors believes that it should maintain flexibility to select the chair of our board of directors and adjust our board leadership structure from time to time. Mr. Sijbrandij, our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), is also the Chair of our board of directors. Our board of directors determined that having our CEO also serve as the Chair of our board of directors provides us with optimally effective leadership and is in our best interests and those of our stockholders. Mr. Sijbrandij co-founded and has led our company since 2012. Our board of directors believes that Mr. Sijbrandij’s strategic vision for our business, his in-depth knowledge of our platform and operations and the software technology industry, and his experience serving as the Chair of our board of directors and CEO since our inception make him well qualified to serve as both Chair of our board of directors and CEO.

Because Mr. Sijbrandij serves in both these roles, our board of directors appointed Godfrey Sullivan to serve as our lead independent director. As lead independent director, Mr. Sullivan presides over periodic meetings of our independent directors, serves as a liaison between the chair of our board of directors and the independent directors, and performs such additional duties as our board of directors may otherwise determine and delegate. Our board of directors believes that its independence and oversight of management is maintained effectively through this leadership structure, the composition of our board of directors and sound corporate governance policies and practices.

Our board of directors, as a whole, has responsibility for risk oversight, although the committees of our board of directors oversee and review risk areas that are particularly relevant to them. The risk oversight responsibility of our board of directors and its committees is supported by our management reporting processes, which are designed to provide visibility to our board of directors and to our personnel that are responsible for risk assessment and information about the identification, assessment and management of critical risks and management’s risk mitigation strategies. These areas of focus include competitive, economic, operational, financial (accounting, credit, investment, liquidity and tax), legal, regulatory, cybersecurity, privacy, compliance and reputational risks. Our board of directors reviews strategic and operational risk in the context of discussions, question and answer sessions, and reports from the management team at each regular board meeting, receives reports on all significant committee activities at each regular board meeting, and evaluates the risks inherent in significant transactions. Our audit committee assists our board of directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to risk management.

Each committee of our board of directors meets with key management personnel and representatives of outside advisors to oversee risks associated with their respective principal areas of focus. Our audit committee reviews our major financial risk exposures, our internal control over financial reporting, our disclosure controls and procedures, legal and regulatory compliance, and, among other things, discusses with management and our independent auditor guidelines and policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management. Our audit committee also reviews matters relating to cybersecurity and data privacy and security and reports to our board of directors regarding such matters. Our compensation and leadership development committee evaluates our major compensation related risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor or mitigate such exposures. Our nominating and corporate governance committee assesses risks relating to our corporate governance practices, the independence of our board of directors and reviews and discusses the narrative disclosure regarding our board of directors’ leadership structure and role in risk oversight. We believe this division of responsibilities is an effective approach for addressing the risks we face and that our board leadership structure supports this approach.

The listing rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), generally require that independent directors constitute a majority of a listed company’s board of directors. In addition, the Nasdaq rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees must be an “independent director.” Under the rules of Nasdaq, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Additionally, compensation committee members must not have a relationship with the listed company that is material to the director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a compensation committee member.

If you do not vote and you hold your shares in street name, and your broker does not have discretionary power to vote your shares, your shares may constitute “broker non-votes” (as described above) and will not be counted in determining the auditnumber of shares necessary for approval of the proposals. However, broker non-votes will be counted for the purpose of establishing a quorum for the Annual Meeting.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that our board of directors shall be free to choose its chair in any way that it considers to be in the best interests of our company, and that the nominating and corporate governance committee met 3 times. During fiscal year 2023, each memberperiodically considers the leadership structure of our board of directors attended at least 75%and makes such recommendations to our board of directors with respect thereto as appropriate. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines also provide that, when the positions of chair and chief executive officer are held by the same person, our board of directors shall designate a “lead independent director” by a majority vote of the aggregate of allindependent directors. In cases in which the chair and chief executive officer are the same person, the chair schedules and sets the agenda for meetings of our board of directors in consultation with the lead independent director, and the chair, or if the chair is not present, the lead independent director, chairs such meetings. The responsibilities of allthe lead independent director include: presiding at executive sessions of independent directors, serving as a liaison between the chair and the independent directors, consulting with the chair regarding the information sent to our board of directors in connection with its meetings, having the authority to call meetings of the independent directors, being available under appropriate circumstances for consultation and direct communication with stockholders, and performing such other functions and responsibilities as requested by our board of directors from time to time.

Our board of directors, as a whole, has responsibility for risk oversight, although the committees of our board of directors on which such member servedoversee and review risk areas that were held during the period in which such director served.

Each committee of our board of directors meets with key management personnel and representatives of outside advisors to oversee risks associated with their respective principal areas of focus. Our audit committee reviews our major financial risk exposures, our internal control over financial reporting, our disclosure controls and procedures, legal and regulatory compliance, and, among other things, discusses with management and our independent auditor guidelines and policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management. Our audit committee also reviews matters relating to cybersecurity and data privacy and security and reports to our board of directors regarding such matters. Our compensation and leadership development committee evaluates our major compensation related risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor or a specific membermitigate such exposures. Our nominating and corporate governance committee assesses risks relating to our corporate governance practices, the independence of our board of directors (includingand reviews and discusses the narrative disclosure regarding our chair or lead independent director, if any) may do so by letters addressed toboard of directors’ leadership structure and role in risk oversight. We believe this division of responsibilities is an effective approach for addressing the attention ofrisks we face and that our Corporate Secretary.board leadership structure supports this approach.

The listing rules of the Corporate SecretaryNasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), generally require that independent directors constitute a majority of a listed company’s board of directors. In addition, the Nasdaq rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation, and providednominating and corporate governance committees must be an “independent director.” Under the rules of Nasdaq, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Additionally, compensation committee members must not have a relationship with the listed company that is material to the director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a compensation committee member.

Our audit committee has selected KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to perform the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending January 31, 20242025 and recommends that stockholders vote for ratification of such selection. The ratification of the selection of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 31, 20242025 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting. In the event that KPMG LLP is not ratified by our stockholders, the audit committee will review its future selection of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm.

In addition to performing the audit of our consolidated financial statements, KPMG LLP provided various other services during the fiscal years ended January 31, 20222023 and 2023.2024. Our audit committee has determined that KPMG LLP’s provision of these services, which are described below, does not impair KPMG LLP’s independence from us. During the years ended January 31, 20222023 and 2023,2024, fees for services provided by KPMG LLP were as follows:

Our audit committee’s policy is to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, the scope of services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm and the fees for the services to be performed. These services may include audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. Pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or category of services and is generally subject to a specific budget. The independent registered public accounting firm and management are required to periodically report to the audit committee regarding the extent of services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with this pre-approval, and the fees for the services performed to date.

In accordance with Section 14A of the Exchange Act, we are providing stockholders with an opportunity to make a non-binding, advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers. This non-binding advisory vote is commonly referred to as a “say-on-pay” vote. The non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement, will be determined by the vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present or represented at the Annual Meeting and voting affirmatively or negatively on the proposal.

“RESOLVED, that our stockholders approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed in the Proxy Statement pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables, and narrative discussion and the other related disclosures.”

As an advisory vote, this proposal is not binding. However, our board of directors and compensation committee, which is responsible for designing and administering our executive compensation program, value the opinions expressed by stockholders in their vote on this proposal and will consider the outcome of the vote when making future compensation decisions for our named executive officers.