The speaker, a Kubernetes and cross-plane developer, introduced cross-plane, which is an extension to the Kubernetes API that allows for managing cloud resources through one Kubernetes cluster. The speaker discussed building and testing a cross-plane platform, including using Helm to generate compositions and YAML dynamically, using Cuddle to run end-to-end tests, and developing a linter for cross-plane compositions. The speaker also mentioned the benefits of using virtual clusters for testing and the importance of detecting errors sooner. The speaker's team has made their self-written linter open source.