Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:SkySQL
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:SkySQL
Cloud Computing
commercialism
Crypto
SkySQL Platfrom.Image Credits:SkySQL
enterprisingness
EVs
Fintech
Creating a semantic agent in SkySQL.Image Credits:SkySQL
fund raise
convenience
stake
Government & Policy
computer hardware
Layoffs
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
security system
Social
quad
startup
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
More from TechCrunch
event
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
newssheet
Podcasts
telecasting
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Anyone who ’s followed the hazard ofMySQLandMariaDBthese past 15 years will probably call back SkySQL , another brand that once existed within that same database ecosystem and , a year ago , became astand - alone companyonce more .
That fellowship today declare it has raised its first external funding — a $ 6.6 million germ unit of ammunition — with dream to use it to bring conversational AI to database .
MySQL , for the uninitiated , is the pop relational database direction system of rules ( RDMS ) created by Michael “ Monty ” Widenius , David Axmark , and Allan Larsson back in the mid-’90s . After the commercial company behind the project was sell to Sun Microsystems for$1 billion in 2008 , Sun Microsystems itself was flick up by Oraclefor $ 7 billion , a dealings that spurred Widenius to fork MySQL and produce MariaDB to ensure it remained an sovereign , community - drive effort .
afterward , Widenius established two organizations : SkySQL , a commercial-grade entity that sell services for MySQL ; and Monty Program , which was all about supporting MariaDB .
These two businessesmergedin 2013 , with the unite outfitrebrandingas MariaDB Corporation and raising some $ 230 million in funding . MariaDBresurrectedthe SkySQL brand in 2020 viaa new swarm database product , but after struggling with life as a public company ( read saga here ) , MariaDBspun out SkySQLas an independent business last year , spearhead by the squad that had been developing the product at MariaDB .
While MariaDB retained an equity interest in the spinoff , the burden has very much been onSkySQLto smithy its own path . And that is why the startup today announced a fresh hard cash injection , as it looks to wreak AI into the database mixture .
The startup ’s $ 6.6 million seed funding includes involvement from famed seeded player - level investorEniac Ventures , which has previously invested in the likes of Airbnb and Reddit , in addition toGood CapitalandWTI .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
The AI factor
Businesses typically use SkySQL to palliate the hassles and complexities of running MariaDB — it ’s a fully managed cloud product that automates provisioning and scale , with characteristic dealing with surety , compliance , and disaster recovery . And since spin out of MariaDB last year , SkySQLhas added Microsoft Azure support , stand for it ’s now truly multi - cloud as it already defend deployment across AWS and Google Cloud Platform .
However , the company is now looking to array itself with the burgeoning AI revolution and take on one of the biggest problem it enounce exists in today ’s databases — that is , they ’re not optimized for AI .
As such , SkySQL is now infix a duo of AI products , including something it ’s calling “ semantic agents ” that serve insights on operational data point . So , SkySQL client can effectively build and plant their own AI agents into their apps , allowing their users to ask natural lyric query of their data stored in SkySQL — something that can be gainsay in initiative configurations due to security and compliance consequence related to moving sensitive datum around , not to mention longstanding issues aroundhallucinations .
SkySQL keep everything within the weapons platform , while the semi - autonomous agent also support homo - in - the - loop stimulant to help oneself refine the output and meliorate it over metre .
Elsewhere , SkySQL is also debuting Sky Copilot , which is fundamentally an AI assistant that can facilitate database administrators optimise the performance of their database , troubleshoot , and “ manage quotidian tasks ” all through instinctive language queries . This could be something like “ please give me a reputation summarise the health of my server ” or “ discover behind - performing database queries . ”
So in effect , SkySQL is positioning itself as much more than a database companionship ; it ’s all about mingle various integral AI components , such asvector databasesand big language models ( LLMs ) , into a unmarried API that allows substance abuser to derive lifelike - language answers without having to move their information .
Founding team
SkySQL ’s founding team include CEONithin Rao(pictured above ) , who co - constitute a vehicle connectivity program call Autonomic , which hesold to Ford back in 2021 . He then launch an AI analytics startup called Definitive Intelligence , which wassnapped up by AI chip company Groqthis past March , though Rao had already take leave for SkySQL by that point .
“ SkySQL represented a next rude footfall — a chance to return on the imagination of being the operational data platform for innovative software program , especially those leverage productive AI , ” Rao tell TechCrunch .
Rao ’s two carbon monoxide gas - founders are CTOJags Ramnarayanand CPOSaravana Krishnamurthy , both of whom transition over from MariaDB , where they were already familiar with SkySQL . And although Rao only join them as SkySQL was emerging from MariaDB , he already knew one of the founders from a previous cloud computing company they both work at some years former .
“ Jags and I first track paths while working together atPivotal , and when the opportunity to spin out SkySQL arose , we reconnected , ” Rao say . “ The chance to conjoin forces with such a firm team and work up something transformative in this outer space was one I could n’t pass up . ”
