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Comment by ak_111 | Hacker News Reader

Wow his database startup that raised 12M died this year after only three years.

If anything this shows how insanely difficult it must be to succeed as a database startup (when was the most recent startup success in this space?), as the founding team is stellar.

On the other hand I am surprised it died this quick and interested to know if they did a proper postmortem. Not only did they raise way more than is needed to survive for three years but the idea is about utilising AI to improve DB performance and I find it hard to imagine they couldn't find more investors to lend them a lifeline with all the AI hype.

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Andy's ego is far too big to actually run a company and his focus is entirely on vanity metrics. You can see it in these database reviews where he spends substantial time pining over how much money CompanyX raised and shitting on the bread and butter tools used by those of us who don't have VC money to blow on whatever DBaaS is the current hype.

No idea about internal workings but as a "DB optimisation" startup you're competing with

- most people don't need it

- People who do need it having DBAs/Operations people

- or consultancies

- Database vendors that have automatic optimisation as a feature

Ok "AI" in the name but I think for something as specific as DB optimisation AI jazz hands probably don't work as well. Writing it out it almost seems harder than being an actual DB vendor.

I thought the same thing. I have a personal project that started out as a file system replacement (object store), but also does some amazing DB operations and is useful for analytics. I have often thought about trying to turn it into a profitable business; but the thought of needing to raise insane amounts of capital just to get a few years of runway, seems daunting.

I mean it's also arguably the most difficult time for startups (in general) in the last 15-20 years. Esp if you got your initial investment and valuation before the end of ZIRP.

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