Snowflake is set to acquire the privately-held PostgreSQL provider Crunchy Data for approximately [openai_gpt model="gpt-4o-mini" prompt="Summarize the content and extract only the fact described in the text bellow. The summary shall NOT include a title, introduction and conclusion. Text: Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More
The open-source PostgreSQL, often affectionately dubbed Postgres, has become a focal point for major enterprise data platform vendors. In a significant move, Snowflake is set to acquire the privately-held PostgreSQL provider Crunchy Data in a deal valued at approximately 0 million. This acquisition follows closely on the heels of Snowflake's competitor, Databricks, which recently acquired the serverless PostgreSQL vendor Neon. Together, these acquisitions underscore the growing importance of the open-source database in contemporary enterprise data and AI workflows.
Unlike Neon, which was a relatively young company, Crunchy Data has established itself over the past decade since its inception in 2012. Its flagship product, Crunchy Postgres, offers a managed, automated, and fully supported version of PostgreSQL. Additionally, Crunchy Data provides a specialized version of its platform tailored for Kubernetes environments, as well as a newer offering called Crunchy Data Warehouse, designed to integrate seamlessly with data lakehouse architectures.
Snowflake has indicated that Crunchy Data's technology will serve as the backbone for a new initiative dubbed Snowflake Postgres. This offering aims to empower users by merging Crunchy Data’s robust and developer-friendly Postgres capabilities with Snowflake’s secure and governed environment. The overarching objective is to streamline the process for developers to build, deploy, and scale production-ready AI agents and applications.
Paul Laurence, co-founder of Crunchy Data, shared insights in a blog post, stating, “In our discussions, it quickly became clear that the same trends that Crunchy Data was seeing from the operational database world were also apparent to Snowflake. With today’s announcement, we are targeting the large online transactional processing (OLTP) market, leveraging Snowflake’s reach and Crunchy Data’s flexible, scalable solutions for enterprise workloads and developers alike.”
What PostgreSQL support brings to Snowflake
Snowflake’s data cloud platform provides a comprehensive cloud data warehouse for its enterprise clientele. While the company boasts a growing customer base, it does not yet encompass the extensive open-source PostgreSQL community. PostgreSQL has gained traction as a favored database, not only for traditional enterprise applications but also for agentic AI, which explains Databricks' acquisition of Neon.
Moreover, the acquisition brings with it a robust developer community. Data analyst Sanjeev Mohan remarked on the acquisition's significance, noting, “Unlike Neon, Crunchy is truly enterprise.” He emphasized that Crunchy Data has cultivated a deep PostgreSQL user community and is actively engaged with Kubernetes. The company’s offerings extend beyond operational workloads, supporting analytics as well. Originally designed as an OLTP database, PostgreSQL has evolved, with contributions from Crunchy Data and other vendors like Google’s AlloyDB, to accommodate OLAP (Online Analytics Processing) workloads as well.
Mohan expressed optimism regarding the future of PostgreSQL in enterprise applications, stating, “The community has continuously added exceptional capabilities not only for traditional relational and SQL use cases but also for time-series, JSON, and vector search, while boasting some of the best geospatial features available.”
Why PostgreSQL matters to Snowflake and its enterprise users
PostgreSQL's widespread adoption in enterprises is noteworthy, particularly as developers increasingly leverage it as a foundation for agentic AI. This trend is a key factor behind Databricks' acquisition of Neon and Snowflake's decision to acquire Crunchy Data. It reflects a broader, multi-year initiative at Snowflake to foster open engagement with developers.
Kevin Petrie, vice president of research at BARC, commented on the alignment of PostgreSQL’s popularity with developers and Crunchy Data’s support for data warehousing on Iceberg, stating, “This aligns well with Snowflake’s core strategy.” Apache Iceberg, an open-source data lake table format, is part of Snowflake’s expanding commitment to embrace open technologies. Petrie noted that it is easy to envision how organizations might utilize Crunchy Data's technology within the Snowflake platform to develop AI applications for common use cases such as telemetry, geospatial, and advertisement analytics.
He also expressed that Crunchy Data's acquisition was not unexpected, given its recent growth stagnation. “Crunchy Data’s growth seems to have flattened in the last couple of years, so it’s not surprising to see them opt for this exit,” he remarked. “The consolidation wave among data tools and platforms continues.”
Why it matters to the enterprise
For leaders in enterprise data and AI, Snowflake’s acquisition of Crunchy Data reinforces a crucial insight: PostgreSQL is significant. It has transcended its role as merely an open-source alternative to proprietary relational databases, evolving into a widely adopted platform that is rapidly becoming a de facto standard for developers and the enterprises they serve in building agentic AI and scalable enterprise applications.
The major hyperscalers, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, along with a plethora of smaller vendors such as EDB, Aiven, and Netapp Instaclustr, are already backing PostgreSQL. With Snowflake and Databricks now investing heavily in PostgreSQL, it is evident that enterprises should incorporate it into their developer and AI stacks." max_tokens="3500" temperature="0.3" top_p="1.0" best_of="1" presence_penalty="0.1" frequency_penalty="frequency_penalty"] million. This acquisition follows Databricks' recent purchase of the serverless PostgreSQL vendor Neon. Crunchy Data, established in 2012, offers a managed version of PostgreSQL and has a specialized platform for Kubernetes environments. Snowflake plans to use Crunchy Data's technology for a new initiative called Snowflake Postgres, aimed at enhancing developer capabilities in building AI applications. PostgreSQL's adoption is growing in enterprises, particularly for agentic AI applications, which is a factor in both Snowflake's and Databricks' acquisitions. The PostgreSQL community is robust, with contributions enhancing its capabilities for various workloads. Major tech companies are backing PostgreSQL, indicating its importance in enterprise data and AI strategies.
