Supabase Inc., a startup that markets the open-source PostgreSQL database, has raised $150 million in funding.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC led the deal. They were joined by Alphabet Inc’s CapitalG, IronArc and SquarePeg. Supabase announced the raise today along with another business milestone: The company has agreed to buy database startup Turso for an undisclosed sum.
PostreSQL is one of the most popular relational databases on the market because it is free and highly reliable. Supabase offers a paid version that includes additional features. One feature makes it easier to manage user logins, another generates backups. An implementation of the open source Cron tool can automatically run data management tasks at user-defined time intervals.
Supabase also offers features optimized for artificial intelligence workloads. It can store embeddings, the data structures in which neural network models store their knowledge. An MCP server allows external AI agents to read and edit records.
The acquisition, which Supabase announced in conjunction with its funding round, will expand its AI capabilities. Turso offers a database optimized for AI agents. It is based on SQLite, an open source relational store with a small hardware footprint. SQLite can run on low-power devices such as smartphones and wearables.
AI agents often create databases to store the information they collect or generate. For example, a coding wizard may need to store programming instructions provided by the user. The hardware efficiency that Turso inherits from SQLite makes it well suited for such use cases. The database’s small footprint allows agents to spin it up almost instantly, reducing wait times for users.
Turso offers several features that are not available by default in SQLite. It supports embeds and encrypts each database page or storage unit in a slightly different way, reducing the risk of hacking attacks. The core functionality of the platform is available free of charge. Turso monetizes it with a paid cloud version that automates infrastructure management.
Supabase could use the company’s technology to improve Supabase Compute, a new cloud service that debuted introduced Today. It provides hosted sandboxes for long-running AI agents. These agents can benefit from the ability to set up lightweight Turso instances for simple tasks that do not require a full-fledged relational database.
“Agents create millions of databases to support the prototypes, explorations, dashboards, and apps they build,” wrote Paul Copplestone, co-founder and CEO of Supabase, in an article Blog post. “This new pattern on this massive scale requires further development of the database infrastructure.”
Supabase will use the proceeds from its funding round to provide liquidity for employees and develop new AI agent features.
Picture: Supabase
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