PlanetScale Raises $50M Series C for Enterprise Database Service

PlanetScale Secures $50 Million Series C Funding

PlanetScale, a serverless database provider established by the original developers of the Vitess open-source project – the technology underpinning YouTube – has announced a successful $50 million Series C funding round. Kleiner Perkins spearheaded the investment, with participation from existing investors including a16z, SignalFire, and Insight Partners.

Notable Investors and Total Funding

The funding round also saw contributions from prominent figures in the tech industry, such as Tom Preston-Werner, former CEO and co-founder of GitHub; Jack Altman, CEO and founder of Lattice; and Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart. This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $105 million, following a $30 million Series B round just five months prior.

Hosted Enterprise Platform Now Generally Available

Alongside the funding announcement, PlanetScale revealed the general availability of its hosted enterprise platform. Despite operating in private beta since its May 2021 launch, the platform has already attracted a significant clientele.

Current Customer Base

Notable customers currently utilizing PlanetScale include major organizations like YouTube, GitHub, New Relic, Slack, MyFitnessPal, Square, and Affirm. CEO Sam Lambert stated that over 4,000 top-ranked websites are already hosted on PlanetScale, even during the beta phase.

Leadership Transition and Company Growth

Sam Lambert assumed the role of CEO in July, transitioning from his previous position as PlanetScale’s chief product officer. He succeeded co-founder Jiten Vaidya, who now serves as chief strategy officer and remains a member of the company’s board.

The company is experiencing rapid expansion, with its employee count tripling in the last six months. PlanetScale is increasingly recognized as a leading serverless database solution, particularly for platforms like Netlify and Vercel.

The Rise of Serverless Databases

Lambert emphasizes that PlanetScale brought a unique offering to the serverless space – a database proven at scale by powering YouTube, the second-largest website globally. He believes serverless technology is maturing and delivering on its initial promises.

“The cloud initially shifted to eliminating the need for physical servers,” Lambert explained. “However, many companies now require large teams to manage their cloud infrastructure. Serverless is accelerating progress, potentially enabling a five-person company to achieve a billion-dollar valuation through leveraging these tools.”

Investor Perspective on Market Opportunity

Bucky Moore, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, identifies transactional databases like PlanetScale as representing a “premium market opportunity” within the infrastructure sector. While major cloud providers generate substantial revenue from database services, investors have historically been cautious about direct competition.

Moore believes that cloud providers haven’t significantly innovated in the database realm, creating an opening for technologies like Vitess. This allows companies to deliver software at web scale to global audiences.

PlanetScale’s Unique Value Proposition

Lambert contends that serverless is reaching a point where it fulfills the original vision of cloud computing. He highlights the potential for serverless tools to empower smaller teams and drive innovation.

He further asserts that PlanetScale’s strength lies not just in its technology, but in its “taste” – its ability to create products that resonate with users through design and aesthetics. This unique approach, he argues, differentiates PlanetScale from potential competitors.

Future Roadmap and Innovation

According to Lambert, PlanetScale has only begun to unlock the full potential of Vitess, estimating that the current offering represents approximately 10% of its capabilities. The team is focused on establishing foundational elements, such as login systems and audit logging, before pursuing more advanced features.

New Features and Integrations

With the general availability launch, PlanetScale is introducing a new database import feature, simplifying the migration of existing MySQL databases. The service is also now integrated with the Prisma Data Platform, enabling developers to create PlanetScale databases directly within Prisma.

The company’s long-term vision involves bringing functionalities that have traditionally resided outside of databases back into the core system, leveraging the robustness and scalability of Vitess.