ClickHouse
Overview
ClickHouse is a high-performance columnar database management system designed for online analytical processing (OLAP). Originally developed by Yandex, the technology was open-sourced in 2016. In 2021, ClickHouse was spun out as an independent company with Aaron Katz, Yury Izrailevsky, and Alexey Milovidov at the helm. The company, based in the U.S., has since raised over $300 million, with a recent Series C round bringing an additional $350 million for its AI-enabling database platform. ClickHouse serves notable clients such as Cisco, Walmart, and Microsoft, offering cloud solutions that integrate with AWS, Google Cloud, and others.
Recent Developments
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May 2025: ClickHouse secured $350 million in funding led by Khosla Ventures, aiming at expanding AI capabilities and global reach.
- Launch of "Bring Your Own Cloud" (BYOC) for AWS, allowing users to deploy ClickHouse Cloud into their AWS account for greater data control.
- Introduction of a native MySQL Change Data Capture (CDC) connector in private preview, enhancing the integration for real-time data replication from MySQL into ClickHouse.
- A new Slack app allowing ClickHouse Cloud notifications directly within Slack for better monitoring and alerting features.
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2024-2025: ClickHouse focused its efforts on improving the ClickHouse Cloud user experience with several enhancements:
- Remote monitoring capabilities introduced, including a dashboard to monitor resource utilization.
- Expansion to the AWS Middle East region, making it accessible across multiple regions on AWS, GCP, and Azure.
- A wave of product developments, such as vector search capabilities reaching beta status and the addition of scalar correlated subqueries support.
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Late 2024: Acquisition of HyperDX, an open-source observability platform, which aligns ClickHouse with expanding observability tools.
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2024: ClickHouse prepared for its next funding round with discussions on raising several hundred million dollars, intimating a significant vision for development and expansion to compete as a faster alternative to platforms like Snowflake.
Company Information
| Attribute | Information |
|---|---|
| Founding Date | 2021 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Founders | Alexey Milovidov, Aaron Katz, Yury Izrailevsky |
| Revenue | Undisclosed |
| Profits | Undisclosed |
| Key Investors | Khosla Ventures, Coatue, Altimeter, Thrive Capital, Redpoint Ventures |
| Industry | Database Management, Cloud Computing |
| Number of Employees | Approx. 1,000 |
Early History
ClickHouse began as an internal project at Yandex in 2009. Designed by Alexey Milovidov and his team, it was developed as an OLAP database to efficiently handle large volumes of analytical queries. By 2012, it was rolled out internally to power Yandex's web analytics platform. Recognizing its potential, Yandex open-sourced ClickHouse in 2016, significantly increasing its visibility and technological adoption across the analytics community. By 2021, the foundational technology garnered enough traction to justify the formation of a standalone company, ClickHouse Inc.
Company Profile and Achievements
Since its spinout, ClickHouse has been pivotal in the analytics software segment, offering robust real-time analytics solutions which cater to companies requiring high-speed data processing at scale. Major achievements include:
- Launch of ClickHouse Cloud in late 2022, which has expanded its availability to major cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.
- Penetration into crucial market sectors, securing high-profile clients like Cisco, Lyft, Walmart, and Microsoft, using ClickHouse for use cases such as fraud detection and real-time analytics.
- Recognized for its high-performance data processing capabilities, claiming enhancements over traditional OLAP systems by a factor of 100 to 1,000 in speed, due to its columnar storage and in-memory query processing.
- Active involvement in the open-source community, contributing to the proliferation of broader ClickHouse software adoption across various sectors.
Current Operations and Market Position
Presently, ClickHouse operates within the competitive landscape of database management and cloud computing, positioning itself as a preferred choice for real-time analytics. Its strategic expansion of cloud services is complemented by enhancing user tools for analytics and observability. By acquiring observability platform HyperDX, ClickHouse addresses previous criticisms about its lack of frontend tools for data insights. The company's aggressive growth strategies and funding reinforce its robust infrastructure and technical leadership in facilitating AI-driven applications. Its impact on industries such as e-commerce, logistics, and IT makes it a formidable player against established data warehousing entities like Snowflake.
Conclusion
ClickHouse stands as a significant innovator in the field of database management, specially tailored for high-performance analytical data processing. With a foundation based on open-source principles and innovation in cloud delivery, the company continues to expand its capabilities. Anticipated future growth, fueled by substantial investments, positions ClickHouse to further its impact in AI applications and enhance its footprint across various digital-centric sectors.