Snowflake has reached an agreement to acquire Crunchy Data. Through Crunchy Data, Snowflake aims to open the gateway to PostgreSQL.
In addition to new product announcements, Snowflake also has acquisition news during its Summit in San Francisco. CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy announces Snowflake’s intention to acquire Crunchy Data, a provider of PostgreSQL services tailored for enterprises. The acquisition is still pending regulatory approval, but Snowflake expresses optimism about a positive outcome.
A first joint product with Crunchy Data is also cautiously announced. Snowflake Postgres will soon appear in public preview. Until the acquisition is fully completed, the companies will operate as separate entities.
Snowflake and Postgres
Snowflake emphasizes that Snowflake Postgres complements its existing offering, which brings together analytical and transactional data in one environment. While Snowflake’s Unistore platform focuses on combined data workloads, Snowflake Postgres will primarily target transactional applications requiring PostgreSQL compatibility.
Snowflake aims to offer businesses a fully managed PostgreSQL solution suitable for building AI applications within environments with high security, compliance, and scalability requirements. The new service targets companies using PostgreSQL for operational data while wanting to benefit from AI functionality within the Snowflake platform.
According to Christian Kleinerman, EVP Product at Snowflake, there was a high demand for this. PostgreSQL is one of the largest open-source database servers in existence. “There’s a large community behind it. Customers have almost begged us to provide compatibility. With this new offering, we meet customers where they are and offer choice, without overwhelming them”.