Kubernetes began as a way to solve problems with deploying and managing containerized applications at Google. Early versions introduced basic Kubernetes objects and the concept of pods, which are groups of containers that are deployed together. As Kubernetes was used across multiple nodes, new challenges emerged around networking, load balancing, and service discovery. Later versions introduced services, which provide a single IP and DNS name for pods, making load balancing and discovery easier. Ingresses were also added to consolidate routing rules for external access to cluster services through a single resource.