ParadeDB launches Postgres extension to fix search and analytics pains
New startup ParadeDB rolled out an open source Postgres extension that adds full-text search and analytics without moving data. It plugs into Google Cloud SQL, Azure Postgres, Amazon RDS, and more.
Founders Philippe Noël and Ming Ying started ParadeDB in 2023 after struggling with Postgres search problems during their first startup. Noël said the current Postgres search options remain weak despite its booming use in AI. 
Elasticsearch, the main rival since 2012, requires shuffling data between itself and Postgres. Noël called this setup “breaking all the time” with latency, compatibility, and cost issues.
“Postgres is becoming the default database of the world, and you still can’t do good search over that information, believe it or not,” Noël said.
“There’s just a lot of pain points. So we decided to go and start a company to do that after talking to more people and realizing this was a very shared problem.”
ParadeDB’s extension works inside Postgres, cutting out data transfer. The startup released its first open source version last year. Then in May 2024, Alibaba became its first customer. Now it serves clients like Modern Treasury and Bilt Rewards.
The company just raised $12 million in Series A led by Craft Ventures with Y Combinator also investing. ParadeDB plans to grow its team from four to ten and improve its UI and analytics.
Noël wasn’t actively fundraising but Craft Ventures came through after a nod from Supabase. He sees a huge opportunity as Postgres keeps rising.
“It’s clear people are recognizing that Postgres matters a lot, and they want to get behind it,” Noël said.
“We think building on Postgres is actually a meaningful shift, right? Because that’s where the data is, and you can make a meaningful dent in Elasticsearch’s market share by meeting users where their data is, rather than building something that’s marginally faster or marginally cheaper.”
The timing taps into broader Postgres momentum. Snowflake and Databricks recently acquired Crunchy Data and Neon to boost their Postgres offerings. Analysts say these moves highlight the growing value of Postgres in the database wars.
ParadeDB aims to ride that wave with a tighter, simpler search solution built right on Postgres.
