Databend is an AI-native, open-source data warehouse designed as a Snowflake alternative, targeting enterprises and developers needing to unify and analyze structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. It offers near 100% SQL compatibility and native AI capabilities, aiming for cost reduction and high performance at petabyte scale.

How It Works

Databend employs a Rust-powered Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) architecture with S3-native storage. This design enables true compute-storage separation for infinite scalability and cost efficiency by leveraging object storage. It supports a unified data model, including a VECTOR data type with HNSW indexing for multimodal AI workloads, alongside standard SQL and VARIANT types for JSON.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Cloud: Databend Cloud (beta) offers a production-ready experience in 60 seconds.
• Self-Hosted: Installation Guide available for deployment on AWS, Azure, GCP, or on-premise.
• CLI: BendSQL CLI for interaction.
• Dependencies: No specific hardware or software prerequisites are mentioned for basic setup beyond standard cloud/OS environments.

Highlighted Details

• Claims 10x faster performance via vectorized execution and SIMD optimization.
• Aims for 90% cost reduction through S3-native storage.
• Supports multimodal analytics, unifying structured, JSON, and vector embeddings.
• Production-proven at petabyte scale, handling 800+ PB and 100M+ queries daily.

Maintenance & Community

• Active community with Slack and GitHub channels for discussion and support.
• Roadmap available, indicating ongoing development.
• Contributions are welcomed, with a clear process for merging code.

Licensing & Compatibility

• Licensed under Apache License 2.0 and Elastic License 2.0.
• The Apache 2.0 license generally permits commercial use and linking with closed-source applications.

Limitations & Caveats

• Databend Cloud is currently in beta.
• While aiming for Snowflake compatibility, specific edge cases or advanced features might require validation for migration.