Snowflake to buy database startup Crunchy Data for about $250 million
- Snowflake, the data analytics software firm, announced Monday its acquisition of Crunchy Data, a cloud-based database software startup, for approximately $250 million. The move aims to bolster Snowflake's...
- Crunchy Data specializes in providing a cloud-hosted version of the PostgreSQL open-source database, which has gained popularity among developers.
- This acquisition follows a similar move by Snowflake's rival, Databricks, which recently announced its intent to acquire Neon, another PostgreSQL-based software company, for around $1 billion.
Snowflake Acquires Crunchy Data to Enhance AI Data Cloud
Snowflake, the data analytics software firm, announced Monday its acquisition of Crunchy Data, a cloud-based database software startup, for approximately $250 million. The move aims to bolster Snowflake’s capabilities in delivering artificial intelligence solutions.
Crunchy Data specializes in providing a cloud-hosted version of the PostgreSQL open-source database, which has gained popularity among developers. Their service enhances the standard open-source code with improved security and performance features. The Snowflake acquisition will allow the company to offer early access to a PostgreSQL database service, streamlining data movement into Snowflake for easier query execution on larger datasets, according to Christian Kleinerman, executive vice president of product at Snowflake.
This acquisition follows a similar move by Snowflake’s rival, Databricks, which recently announced its intent to acquire Neon, another PostgreSQL-based software company, for around $1 billion. Snowflake also considered acquiring Neon last year. However, they ultimately pursued Crunchy Data, which reportedly generates over $30 million in annualized revenue.
Both Snowflake and Databricks are strategically positioning themselves to capitalize on corporate investments in artificial intelligence agents. Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Snowflake, stated in may that the company is building a strong foundation to lead in the age of agentic AI.
Founded in 2012 and based in Charleston,S.C., Crunchy Data has approximately 100 employees. Its client base includes Kyndryl, Thales, UPS, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
What’s next
With the acquisition of Crunchy Data, Snowflake aims to simplify data integration and enhance its data cloud offerings, providing customers with a more robust platform for AI growth and deployment.