SingleStore (formerly MemSQL) is the database that handles both transactions and analytics in one engine. Most companies run separate databases for each, one for the app and one for reporting. SingleStore said: why not both? It raised about $460 million on that promise and hit a $1.3 billion valuation in 2022. It never made it to IPO. In 2025 private equity firm Vector Capital bought majority control instead, a solid but quiet ending for a company once pitched as one database to rule them all.
Founded
2011
HQ
San Francisco, USA
Total Raised
$460 million
Founder
Nikita Shamgunov, Eric Frenkiel, Adam Prout
Status
Majority-owned by Vector Capital (2025)
Verified Oct 2026
Website
www.singlestore.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Nikita Shamgunov, Eric Frenkiel, and Adam Prout were engineers at Facebook and Microsoft who saw that companies were struggling with a fundamental database problem: transactional databases (MySQL, Postgres) were fast for app operations but terrible for analytics. Analytical databases (Redshift, BigQuery) were great for reporting but couldn’t handle real-time operations.
They founded MemSQL (now SingleStore) in 2011 to build a single database that could handle both workloads — HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing). The database stores data in memory for speed while persisting to disk for durability.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Cloud database subscription. SingleStore charges based on compute and storage consumption.
Available as a managed cloud service (SingleStore Helios) or self-hosted. Enterprise contracts include support and advanced features.
Revenue comes from both cloud subscriptions and on-premise licenses.
THE PRODUCTS
SingleStore Helios — managed cloud database. Real-time analytics on operational data.
Vector search for AI/ML applications. Full-text search.
JSON document storage. Kai — MongoDB API-compatible interface.
HOW THEY GREW
Enterprise sales to companies with demanding real-time analytics needs, built on case studies from big brands. The rebrand from MemSQL to SingleStore in 2020 clarified the pitch.
Cloud-first go-to-market with a free tier for developers, plus vector search to ride the AI wave. At the time of the 2025 buyout it reported net new ARR up 34% year over year, and managed cloud net new ARR up more than 80%.
THE HARD PART
Competing against the cloud giants' databases (Amazon Aurora, Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks) plus specialized databases for every use case. Convincing companies to consolidate onto one database when they have already invested in separate systems is a slow sell.
Now it has to grow under private equity ownership, which usually means a sharper focus on profit than on growth at any cost.
MONEY TRAIL
Series B
2014 · Led by Accel
$35M raised
Series C
2016 · Led by REV, Caffeinated Capital
$36M raised
Series D
2018 · Led by GV, Glynn Capital
$30M raised
Series E
2020 · Led by Insight Partners
$80M raised
Series F
2021 · Led by Insight Partners
$80M raised
Series F extension
2022 · Led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management
$116M raised
$1.3B valuation
WHO BACKED THEM
MemSQL came out of Y Combinator in 2011. Accel led a $35 million Series B in 2014 with Khosla Ventures, IA Ventures, First Round and Data Collective.
REV and Caffeinated Capital led a $36 million Series C in 2016. GV and Glynn Capital led a $30 million Series D in 2018, and Insight Partners backed $80 million rounds in 2020 and 2021.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management led $116 million in July 2022 at about a $1.3 billion valuation, with Dell Technologies Capital, GV, HPE and IBM. Total funding was about $460 million.
In October 2025 Vector Capital completed a growth buyout and took majority control, with GV, Dell, IBM and REV staying in.
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