FaunaDB Shuts Down But Hints At Open Source Future (theregister.com) 12
FaunaDB, a serverless database combining relational and document features, will shut down by the end of May due to unsustainable capital demands. The company plans to open source its core technology, including its FQL query language, in hopes of continuing its legacy within the developer community. The Register reports: The startup pocketed $27 million in VC funding in 2020 and boasted that 25,000 developers worldwide were using its serverless database. However, last week, FaunaDB announced that it would sunset its database services. FaunaDB said it plans to release an open-source version of its core database technology. The system stores data in JSON documents but retains relational features like consistency, support for joins and foreign keys, and full schema enforcement. Fauna's query language, FQL, will also be made available to the open-source community. "Driving broad based adoption of a new operational database that runs as a service globally is very capital intensive. In the current market environment, our board and investors have determined that it is not possible to raise the capital needed to achieve that goal independently," the leadership team said.
"While we will no longer be accepting new customers, existing Fauna customers will experience no immediate change. We will gradually transition customers off Fauna and are committed to ensuring a smooth process over the next several months," it added.
"While we will no longer be accepting new customers, existing Fauna customers will experience no immediate change. We will gradually transition customers off Fauna and are committed to ensuring a smooth process over the next several months," it added.
Re: (Score:2)
What were they selling? I mean clearly, they weren't selling anything, since they're now out of business, but what were they trying to sell? The vague concept of a database?
So They Really Didn't Invent Anything New (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
I've long suspected DB cloud hosting is not a cheap route nor one that pays high dividends.
The amount of "NoSQL" providers that started off open source and eventually closed their source was the first hint that VC vultures where losing their patience with the sector.
But also a lot of cloud services that just don't last like they should.
Everyone wants to be the next MongoDB, Redshift or Databricks, but any closer examination of the DB landscape will show that the sheen has come off the NoSQL world, as engine
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of object database technology is really neat. Lotus Notes is a still really cool, for those that actually understand it. The problem is most data is relational, that is what it makes it data and not just facts after all.
NoSQL got everyone excited because it was coincidental with the rise of SAAS. Object database makes a lot of transaction operations much simpler and faster and has a better impedance match to the largely object oriented languages and software frameworks that were also at the height of
25000 developers registered, how many production? (Score:4, Insightful)
How many of the developers are guest, trial or free accounts; and how many ot them have a FaunaDb in production?
Kind of like some site claiming that everyone who ever signed in, registered or signed up for a newsletter is a user, even decades later.
serverless database (Score:2)
A "serverless database" just means it's someone else's server.
Re: (Score:2)
nah, it just runs on the PC. Not a server. /joke ;)
The tech is not theirs to give away (Score:2)
The company plans to open source its core technology
An interesting plan that will require the agreement of the investors that the technology is worthless, or the investors will want to try to sell it. The company management does not get to choose to do this - that is an owner, investor, decision.
Re: (Score:2)
I came to say the same - if they *do* open source it, it'll be very much the rarity.
What they could do is open source it, fire all but 5 people and then run it like MariaDB Corp, or Redis or Grafana or someone. There'd still be some shares left for investors to hold, although they wouldn't ever see their multi-million dollar exit. Seems unlikely, but it might work.
I'm also wondering where anyone "transitions" to? Are they going to setup a hosting service, where they setup a server for the customer and run i