SingleStore

Real Time Databases

SingleStore is a distributed SQL database platform combining transactions, analytics, search, and vector capabilities in a single engine.

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A unified database platform that combines transaction processing, analytics, search, and vector data in a single system, designed for real-time AI applications.

SingleStore is a distributed SQL database platform combining transactions, analytics, search, and vector capabilities in a single engine. Founded in 2011 by Eric Frenkiel, Nikita Shamgunov, and Adam Prout as MemSQL before rebranding in 2019, the company targets enterprises running real-time AI and data applications. CEO Raj Verma has led the company since 2020.

SingleStore reached a $1.3 billion valuation in 2022 after raising $116 million led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, but shifted course in September 2025 when private equity firm Vector Capital acquired a majority stake in a deal valued at approximately $500 million—a significant down round that reflects broader investor caution on mid-tier database companies relative to larger AI analytics platforms like Databricks. The company reported strong fundamentals for Q2 FY2026: $123 million in annual recurring revenue with 23% year-over-year growth, a 95% gross dollar retention rate, 114% net retention, and $150 million in cash reserves. SingleStore operates at near-breakeven cash flow and serves over 400 customers including Fortune 500 names like Adobe, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, and Comcast.

In October 2024, SingleStore acquired BryteFlow, a data integration specialist, to strengthen its ability to ingest data from enterprise systems like Salesforce, SAP, and Oracle. The company announced major product updates in 2025, including Aura Analyst (a conversational AI analytics assistant that translates natural language to SQL) and AI & ML Functions, alongside vector search capabilities that perform comparably to specialized vector databases. Existing investors including Google Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, IBM Ventures, and REV Venture Partners remain as shareholders alongside Vector Capital.

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Products by SingleStore

Who buys this

  • Large enterprises running real-time personalization and recommendation engines (e-commerce, media)
  • Financial services firms requiring ultra-low latency transaction and analytics (banks, trading platforms)
  • Enterprise SaaS vendors needing unified transactional and analytical workloads at scale (CRM, ERP, BI platforms)
  • AI application builders embedding vector search and conversational analytics into customer-facing features

Publicly disclosed clients

  • Adobe
  • Cisco
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Comcast
  • Hulu
  • Siemens
  • Uber

Strengths and what to watch

Strengths

  • High customer retention and expansion: 95% gross dollar retention, 114% net retention as of Q2 FY2026, indicating strong product-market fit and upsell
  • Strong financial position with $150 million in cash, $123 million ARR growing 23% YoY, and near-breakeven cash flow
  • Product momentum in AI-native capabilities: Aura Analyst (conversational analytics), vector search performance, and acquisition of BryteFlow to accelerate real-time data ingestion

Watch for

  • Significant down round from $1.3 billion (2022) to ~$500 million (2025 Vector Capital deal) signals investor skepticism on mid-tier databases relative to mega-cap AI analytics firms like Databricks
  • Dependency on Raj Verma as sole CEO; founder departures already occurred (Frenkiel 2017, Shamgunov 2022), and Vector Capital ownership removes traditional IPO path
  • Intensifying competition from well-capitalized rivals; Databricks' $100 billion valuation overshadows SingleStore's fundraising ability, making customer acquisition increasingly competitive

Recent moves

Key Information

Industry
Real Time Databases
Founded
2011
Employees
601
Headquarters
United States

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SingleStore database?

SingleStore is a distributed SQL database combining transaction processing, analytics, search, and vector capabilities in a single system. Founded in 2011 as MemSQL, it serves enterprises building real-time AI applications requiring unified data workloads where transactions and analytics happen simultaneously.

What are SingleStore's main features?

SingleStore's core features include Aura Analyst, a conversational AI assistant translating natural language to SQL; vector search performing comparably to specialized databases; AI & ML Functions for embedded analytics; and real-time data ingestion from enterprise systems like Salesforce and SAP.

Which major companies use SingleStore?

Notable SingleStore customers include Fortune 500 companies like Adobe, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Comcast, Hulu, Siemens, and Uber. The platform serves over 400 customers spanning e-commerce, media, financial services, and enterprise SaaS vendors.

What is SingleStore's current financial performance?

As of Q2 FY2026, SingleStore reports $123 million annual recurring revenue with 23% year-over-year growth, 95% gross dollar retention, 114% net retention indicating strong expansion, and $150 million in cash reserves operating at near-breakeven.

How much did SingleStore's valuation change?

SingleStore's valuation dropped significantly from $1.3 billion in 2022 to approximately $500 million when private equity firm Vector Capital acquired a majority stake in September 2025. This down round reflects investor skepticism toward mid-tier database companies relative to mega-cap AI platforms.

What are SingleStore's main business risks?

Key risks include the significant down round signaling investor caution, dependence on CEO Raj Verma as sole executive after founder departures, intensifying competition from Databricks valued at $100 billion, and Vector Capital ownership potentially removing traditional IPO exit paths.

How SingleStore compares

Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.

This company

SingleStore

Positioning
A unified database platform that combines transaction processing, analytics, search, and vector data in a single system, designed for real-time AI applications.
Customer segments
Large enterprises running real-time personalization and recommendation engines (e-commerce, media)
Strengths
High customer retention and expansion: 95% gross dollar retention, 114% net retention as of Q2 FY2026, indicating strong product-market fit and upsell
Watch for
Significant down round from $1.3 billion (2022) to ~$500 million (2025 Vector Capital deal) signals investor skepticism on mid-tier databases relative to mega-cap AI analytics firms like Databricks
Recent moves
Vector Capital acquires SingleStore in $500M growth buyout; existing VCs including Google and Dell remain investors

Snowflake

Positioning
Cloud data warehouse for enterprises unifying analytics, data sharing, and AI workloads across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Customer segments
Fortune 500 enterprises in financial services, retail, and healthcare; analytics and data teams buying on cloud-budget cycles.
Strengths
Cross-cloud data sharing marketplace enables live data exchange without copying; $3.5B product revenue base across 10,000-plus enterprise accounts.
Watch for
CEO replaced February 2024 (Slootman out, Ramaswamy in); customers and analysts flagged sales execution gaps and strategic uncertainty during transition.
Recent moves
Acquired Crunchy Data for $250M, June 2025, launching Snowflake Postgres to compete in transactional database workloads.

Databricks

Positioning
Unified data and AI lakehouse platform for enterprise data engineering, ML, and agentic workloads at scale.
Customer segments
Data engineering and ML teams at large enterprises; 20,000-plus organizations globally, 800-plus customers each at $1M-plus ARR.
Strengths
140-plus percent net dollar retention and $5.4B revenue run rate growing 65% YoY; dominant enterprise ML pipeline adoption.
Watch for
Standard tier sunset on AWS and GCP, October 2025, forces mandatory customer migration to Premium with higher DBU rates.
Recent moves
Raised Series L at $134B valuation, December 2025; launched Lakebase, a serverless database targeting agentic AI workloads.

ClickHouse

Positioning
Real-time OLAP database for sub-second analytics at scale, expanding into transactional and AI observability workloads.
Customer segments
Engineering teams at high-scale digital natives and SaaS platforms needing sub-second event and time-series query performance.
Strengths
Sub-second query performance at petabyte scale benchmarked faster than Snowflake and BigQuery on time-series and event workloads.
Watch for
Limited enterprise support tiers and professional services depth; customers scaling beyond the managed cloud tier report operational complexity.
Recent moves
Raised $400M Series D at $15B valuation, January 2026; acquired Langfuse and launched native Postgres service.

Sources

  1. www.singlestore.com — Company overview, products (Helios, Aura), customer names, mission
  2. blocksandfiles.com — Vector Capital acquisition details ($500M), valuation history, financial performance, CEO Raj Verma quote, existing investor retention
  3. pe-insights.com — Vector Capital deal terms, existing shareholder retention (Google Ventures, Dell, IBM, REV, Goldman Sachs), strategic rationale
  4. techintelpro.com — Q2 FY2026 financial metrics: $123M ARR, 23% YoY growth, 95% gross dollar retention, 114% net retention, 400+ customers, 4 new Fortune 500 customers, $150M cash, Japan expansion
  5. blocksandfiles.com — BryteFlow acquisition in October 2024, strategic rationale for data integration, BryteFlow customer list (Siemens, Synchrony, Warner Bros)
  6. thebrandhopper.com — Founding history, founders (Frenkiel, Shamgunov, Prout), Y Combinator backing, MemSQL rebranding to SingleStore in 2019, founder departures (Frenkiel 2017, Shamgunov 2022)
  7. blocksandfiles.com — Raj Verma background and role as CEO, successor to Nikita Shamgunov
  8. www.crunchbase.com — Total funding amount ($464.1M across 12 rounds), Crunchbase company profile
  9. blocksandfiles.com — Aura Analyst product vision, AI functionality, October 2025 announcements