Trino
Trino is an open-source distributed SQL query engine designed for federated analytics across disparate data sources.
Profile
Trino is an open-source distributed SQL query engine that lets users run fast, interactive analytics on data stored across multiple systems without moving it.
Trino is an open-source distributed SQL query engine designed for federated analytics across disparate data sources. Originally forked from Facebook's PrestoDB in 2019 by the project's original creators, Dain Sundstrom, David Phillips, and Martin Traverso, Trino was established under the stewardship of the Trino Software Foundation to ensure vendor-neutral governance. The project has grown to over 12,900 stars on GitHub and more than 45,600 commits as of June 2026, with a development cadence that includes frequent releases and contributions from a broad community.
Trino's core product is the Trino query engine, which allows users to run ANSI SQL queries against data stored in systems like Hive, Iceberg, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Kafka, and Elasticsearch without moving the data. It is widely used for data lake analytics, ad-hoc querying, and as a federated query layer in modern data architectures. The project is supported commercially by several companies, including Starburst, which offers an enterprise distribution.
Trino's market position is strong in the open-source data analytics space, competing with Apache Spark, Dremio, and PrestoDB. The project has no disclosed revenue, funding rounds, or headcount as it is a community-driven foundation, not a commercial entity. Recent activity shows a focus on AI integration, with contributions like a CLAUDE.md file for AI coding assistants, reflecting the broader industry trend toward AI-assisted development. The project has not reported any layoffs or funding events, and its governance model remains independent.
Products by Trino
Who buys this
- Data engineering and analytics teams at large enterprises needing to query data lakes and data warehouses
- Organizations with hybrid or multi-cloud data architectures requiring a unified query layer
- Companies using open-source data formats like Apache Iceberg, Hive, and Delta Lake
- Technology vendors embedding SQL query capabilities into their own products
Strengths and what to watch
Strengths
- Vendor-neutral governance under the Trino Software Foundation, reducing risk of corporate capture
- High-performance, massively parallel processing (MPP) architecture capable of sub-second queries on petabytes of data
- Broad connector ecosystem supporting over 40 data sources, enabling federated querying without data movement
Watch for
- Competition from Apache Spark, Dremio, and PrestoDB, which offer overlapping capabilities and may fragment the market
- Dependence on community contributions for maintenance and development, which can lead to slower issue resolution or feature gaps
- No disclosed commercial revenue or funding, making the project's long-term sustainability reliant on volunteer effort and corporate sponsorships
Key Information
- Industry
- OLAP
- Founded
- 2019
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Trino and what does it do?
Trino is an open-source distributed SQL query engine for federated analytics. It lets you run fast, interactive queries on data stored across multiple systems like Hive, MySQL, and Kafka without moving the data. It was forked from Facebook's PrestoDB in 2019.
How does Trino differ from Apache Spark or Dremio?
Trino competes with Apache Spark, Dremio, and PrestoDB in the open-source data analytics space. Unlike Spark's batch processing focus, Trino is optimized for low-latency, interactive SQL queries. Its federated architecture allows querying multiple data sources without data movement.
Who governs the Trino project and why does it matter?
Trino is governed by the vendor-neutral Trino Software Foundation, reducing risk of corporate capture. This ensures the project remains community-driven and independent, with contributions from a broad group. The foundation was established by Trino's original creators after forking from PrestoDB.
What data sources can Trino query?
Trino supports over 40 data sources through its connector ecosystem, including Hive, Iceberg, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Kafka, and Elasticsearch. This enables federated querying across data lakes, warehouses, and streaming systems without moving data, making it ideal for hybrid and multi-cloud architectures.
Is Trino suitable for large-scale data analytics?
Yes, Trino uses a massively parallel processing architecture capable of sub-second queries on petabytes of data. It is widely used for data lake analytics and ad-hoc querying by data engineering teams at large enterprises. Its performance and scalability are key strengths for interactive analytics.
What recent developments are happening with Trino?
Recent activity includes a focus on AI integration, with contributions like a CLAUDE.md file for AI coding assistants. The project has over 12,900 GitHub stars and 45,600 commits as of June 2026, with frequent releases. Commercial support is available from companies like Starburst.
Sources
- github.com — Project repository showing 12,900+ stars, 45,600+ commits, and active development as of June 2026
- investor.ncino.com — nCino's fiscal 2026 financial results, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier
- ir.sleepnumber.com — Sleep Number's Q1 2026 results, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier
- investor.natera.com — Natera's Q1 2026 financial results, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier
- techcrunch.com — Intuit layoffs in May 2026, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier
- www.reuters.com — Reuters article on AI-linked layoffs, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier
- techcrunch.com — TechCrunch list of 2025 tech layoffs, used to verify the date and context of the research dossier