Dremio
Dremio, founded in 2015 by Tomer Shiran and Jacques Nadeau, is a lakehouse platform built on Apache Iceberg that enables enterprises to query data directly in cloud storage and data lakes without ETL or proprietary lock-in.
Profile
A lakehouse platform that lets enterprises query data in cloud storage and data lakes using SQL without moving data or building ETL pipelines.
Dremio, founded in 2015 by Tomer Shiran and Jacques Nadeau, is a lakehouse platform built on Apache Iceberg that enables enterprises to query data directly in cloud storage and data lakes without ETL or proprietary lock-in. The company has raised $420 million across six funding rounds, with a $160 million Series E in January 2022 that valued the company at $2 billion. Sendur Sellakumar has led the company as CEO since 2023, replacing Billy Bosworth.
Dremio operates three product tiers: Dremio Cloud (fully managed), Dremio Enterprise (self-managed on Kubernetes or on-premise), and a free Community Edition. The platform emphasizes open-source governance, serving as a co-creator of Apache Iceberg, Apache Polaris (which graduated to top-level Apache project status in February 2026), and Apache Arrow. In April 2026, Dremio achieved general availability of Apache Iceberg V3 support with features including VARIANT data types for semi-structured JSON, deletion vectors for streaming workloads, and row-level lineage.
Named customers include Maersk, Amazon, Shell, TransUnion, RWE, E.ON Nordic, TD Securities, FactSet, and NetApp. The company's primary value proposition centers on reducing data infrastructure costs by 40–60 percent versus Snowflake while avoiding vendor lock-in through open standards. In May 2026, SAP announced plans to acquire Dremio for an undisclosed sum, with the transaction expected to close in Q3 2026 pending regulatory approval. This acquisition marks a significant exit for the company but uncertainty remains about strategic direction and integration timelines.
Who buys this
- Financial services and fintech firms using open data structures for real-time analytics (TD Securities, FactSet)
- Fortune 500 logistics and energy companies consolidating multi-region analytics (Maersk, Shell, TransUnion, RWE, E.ON)
- Healthcare systems and cross-border networks needing secure, federated data access (Québec Blue Cross)
- Infrastructure software vendors building data-as-a-service platforms (Nutanix, NetApp)
- Large cloud-native workloads running AI and machine learning models at scale (Amazon)
Publicly disclosed clients
- Maersk
- Amazon
- Shell
- TransUnion
- E.ON Nordic
- TD Securities
- FactSet
- NetApp
Strengths and what to watch
Strengths
- Native Apache Iceberg architecture with V3 support (deletion vectors, semi-structured JSON, row-level lineage) released April 2026, avoiding lock-in
- 40–60% cost savings vs. Snowflake through zero-ETL design and open-source governance (Apache Polaris, Arrow)
- Enterprise customer proof points across Fortune 500 logistics, energy, healthcare, and fintech with documented 10x query speedups (Amazon) and sub-10-minute query times on billion-record datasets
Watch for
- SAP acquisition (announced May 2026, pending Q3 2026 close) creates executive and product roadmap uncertainty; Dremio's independent open-source mission may clash with SAP's proprietary data integration agenda
- Internal challenges: Glassdoor rating 3.8/5, documented layoffs in 2025, sales team turnover with <25% quota attainment per employee reviews, management culture concerns cited on Blind
- Competitive pressure from Databricks (superior ML/Spark integration) and Snowflake (broader ecosystem, managed simplicity); Dremio's differentiation rests on open standards adoption, which requires sustained ecosystem leadership post-acquisition
Recent moves
- 2mo ago SAP agrees to acquire Dremio for undisclosed sum to unify SAP and non-SAP data for agentic AI; Q3 2026 close expected
- 3mo ago Dremio achieves general availability of Apache Iceberg V3 support; engineer JB Onofre elected to Apache Software Foundation board
- 5mo ago Apache Polaris, co-created by Dremio, graduates to top-level Apache project, solidifying open-source data lakehouse governance
- 9mo ago Dremio names Matt Quarfoot as Chief Revenue Officer; company launches Dremio Cloud, dubbed 'industry's first agentic lakehouse'
Key Information
- Industry
- Data Lakes/Lakehouses
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 370
- Headquarters
- United States
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dremio?
Dremio is a lakehouse platform that enables enterprises to query data directly in cloud storage and data lakes using SQL without building ETL pipelines or moving data. Founded in 2015, it's built on Apache Iceberg and avoids vendor lock-in through open standards like Apache Arrow and Apache Polaris.
How much can Dremio save compared to Snowflake?
Dremio delivers 40 to 60 percent cost savings versus Snowflake through its zero-ETL design and native Apache Iceberg architecture. The platform reduces data infrastructure costs by eliminating expensive data movement and transformation pipelines, directly lowering total cost of ownership for enterprise data warehousing.
What is Apache Iceberg V3 and what are its new features?
Apache Iceberg V3, released by Dremio in April 2026, adds VARIANT data types for semi-structured JSON, deletion vectors for streaming workloads, and row-level lineage. These features enhance query performance on complex data and improve governance for real-time analytics at scale.
What major companies use Dremio?
Dremio counts Fortune 500 companies including Maersk, Amazon, Shell, TransUnion, RWE, and E.ON Nordic among its customers. Financial services firms like TD Securities and FactSet, plus infrastructure vendors like NetApp, rely on Dremio for sub-10-minute query times on billion-record datasets.
Is SAP acquiring Dremio?
Yes, SAP announced in May 2026 plans to acquire Dremio for an undisclosed sum, with the transaction expected to close in Q3 2026 pending regulatory approval. The acquisition aims to unify SAP and non-SAP data for enterprise AI applications, though uncertainty remains about Dremio's independent open-source mission.
How does Dremio prevent vendor lock-in?
Dremio prevents vendor lock-in by building on open-source projects: Apache Iceberg for storage, Apache Arrow for data processing, and Apache Polaris for access governance. This open-standards approach lets enterprises query data without proprietary dependencies, preserving architectural freedom and avoiding single-vendor constraints.
How Dremio compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Dremio
- Positioning
- A lakehouse platform that lets enterprises query data in cloud storage and data lakes using SQL without moving data or building ETL pipelines.
- Customer segments
- Financial services and fintech firms using open data structures for real-time analytics (TD Securities, FactSet)
- Strengths
- Native Apache Iceberg architecture with V3 support (deletion vectors, semi-structured JSON, row-level lineage) released April 2026, avoiding lock-in
- Watch for
- SAP acquisition (announced May 2026, pending Q3 2026 close) creates executive and product roadmap uncertainty; Dremio's independent open-source mission may clash with SAP's proprietary data integration agenda
- Recent moves
- SAP agrees to acquire Dremio for undisclosed sum to unify SAP and non-SAP data for agentic AI; Q3 2026 close expected
Starburst
- Positioning
- Trino-based federated SQL analytics platform for enterprises querying heterogeneous data sources without data movement or replication.
- Customer segments
- Financial services firms (10 of top 15 global banks), regulated enterprises in EMEA and North America. Buyers: data architects.
- Strengths
- Federated query across Iceberg, Delta Lake, Hive, and RDBMS sources from one SQL interface without copying data.
- Watch for
- Last disclosed funding is an undisclosed Citi strategic investment (May 2025); materially less growth capital than Databricks or Snowflake.
- Recent moves
- Secured strategic investment from Citi (May 2025); crossed $100M ARR and launched AI-ready platform for agentic workforce (October 2025).
Databricks
- Positioning
- Unified data and AI lakehouse covering data engineering, ML training, and SQL analytics on Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg.
- Customer segments
- Data engineering and ML teams at Fortune 1000 firms across financial services, manufacturing, and retail. Buyers: CDOs, data platform leads.
- Strengths
- Native Spark-based ML pipeline execution tightly integrated with Delta Lake; deepest model training and feature store capability among lakehouse platforms.
- Watch for
- Operational complexity at scale flagged by mid-market teams; $134B valuation and IPO trajectory may deprioritize product depth for enterprise sales volume.
- Recent moves
- Completed $5B Series L at $134B valuation (February 2026); launched Lakewatch open SIEM product in private preview (March 2026).
Snowflake
- Positioning
- Fully managed cloud data platform with unified compute, storage, AI tooling, and a large third-party data marketplace.
- Customer segments
- Enterprise analytics, finance, marketing, and operations teams at Fortune 500 firms. Buyers: data analysts, BI leaders, CDOs.
- Strengths
- Zero infrastructure management with 4,000-plus marketplace data products and consistent cross-cloud SQL analytics availability across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
- Watch for
- Compute-based pricing generates unpredictable bills at scale; Observe acquisition risks alienating existing observability partners by competing directly against them.
- Recent moves
- Announced intent to acquire Observe for approximately $1B (January 2026) to add AI-powered IT observability to its data platform.
Sources
- www.dremio.com — Company mission, product portfolio (Cloud, Enterprise, Community), founding, open-source governance, and core lakehouse positioning
- news.sap.com — SAP acquisition announcement, strategic rationale (data readiness for AI), expected Q3 2026 close, Apache Iceberg/Polaris/Arrow commitments
- techcrunch.com — Series E funding details ($160M, January 2022), investor list (Adams Street Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest, Cisco), $2B valuation, CEO Billy Bosworth positioning
- www.dremio.com — Named customers including Maersk, Amazon, Shell, TransUnion, RWE, E.ON Nordic, TD Securities, FactSet, NetApp, Québec Blue Cross, and their case study results
- www.techtarget.com — SAP acquisition strategic context, data readiness as blocker ($108B wasted AI spending), integration with SAP Business Data Cloud and HANA Cloud
- www.globenewswire.com — Iceberg V3 general availability (April 2026), VARIANT support, deletion vectors, row-level lineage, JB Onofre ASF board appointment
- www.globenewswire.com — Apache Polaris graduation to top-level Apache project (February 2026), Dremio's stewardship role
- startupik.com — Competitive positioning vs. Databricks and Snowflake, cost savings claims (40–60% vs Snowflake), differentiators (open Iceberg, Apache Arrow)
- www.ciodive.com — SAP acquisition rationale, enterprise AI blocker, data readiness problem, Dremio's architectural role in SAP strategy
- www.trueup.io — Layoff events in 2025, employee count (361 as of March 2026), company restructuring and challenges