When the open source database Supabase was founded in 2020, New Zealand-based CEO Paul Copplestone couldn't imagine sitting in the sweet spot of 2025, the biggest trend of 2025.
But the fruit was revealed when it unveiled a $200 million Series D with an Accel-led $2 billion money valuation.
This fresh $200 million comes just seven months after Supabase announced it had raised $80 million, led by Peak XV (Sequoia Spinoff) and David Sacks' Craft Ventures. Supabase did not comment on its rating at the time, but Pitchbook said it was about $900 million. All in all, the startup is currently raising about $398 million.
Supabase is another example of how there are commercially successful open source projects.
It offers an open source version of Firebase, Google's database AI app development platform, and hosts apps up to $600 or more for enterprise users.
Supabase combines an open source SQL database Postgres with other enterprise-grade open source tools for features such as authentication, auto-generated APIs, file storage, and vector toolkits (required by many AI apps).
Essentially, it's like vibe database management, alleviating the troublesome part of configuring a SQL database as part of app development. The result has become the popular backend for adorable vibe coding tools that are growing rapidly.
As a Y Combinator alum, Supabase has become the go-to tool for YC startups, Copplestone previously told TechCrunch. But it really comes on its own along with independent enterprise developers.
The company has experienced “unusual growth” in particular over the past two years, Felicys managing partner Aydin Senkut tells TechCrunch. “Its biggest asset is the developer community, which has grown by thousands every day, past 1 million.”
In fact, Supabase currently claims more than 1.7 million developers, and the project has over 81,000 stars on Github.
“It's becoming the default backend for AI apps and countless other categories of apps,” Senkut says.
Based on Postgres, Supabase has developers and street credits that need to support millions of users. Postgres has a long open source database for enterprise developers, if you don't need the superpower and high-priced tags of Oracle or Microsoft databases.
Supabase is as long as it has the marketing catchphrase “Weekend Build: Millions of Scale.”
There's nothing really threatening Oracle's current position, but it's as deeply embedded as possible into the technology of existing Fortune 1000 companies, but the rise of Spavers is interesting to see.
The next billion user app harvest will be developed by AI, driven by AI, and managed by AI.
And Supabase is already one of the go-to databases for that.