Neon
Neon is a serverless Postgres platform providing autoscaling, storage-compute separated architecture, and copy-on-write branching to developers, AI agent platforms, and enterprises; acquired by Databricks in May 2025 for approximately $1 billion and now powers Databricks Lakebase.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Neon does
Neon, Inc. is a serverless Postgres-as-a-service company founded in 2021 by Postgres committers, headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Its core product is a cloud-native Postgres platform built on a storage-compute separated architecture running over S3-compatible object storage, with copy-on-write database branching, automatic autoscaling, scale-to-zero pausing of idle databases, and sub-second (~120 ms) database provisioning via REST API, CLI (neonctl), and an MCP server. The platform is offered in Free, Launch, and Scale tiers on a usage-based pricing model with no platform fees, and includes bundled managed authentication (Neon Auth), a REST Data API, connection pooling, read replicas, instant point-in-time restore, and compliance coverage (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA).
Neon distributes primarily through a self-serve, product-led growth model — developer signup at console.neon.tech, GitHub-hosted open-source distribution (22.3k stars), a Discord community, and an explicit agent/codegen platform partner program — with an enterprise sales overlay for Scale-tier workloads. The company scaled to 18,000+ customers and 12 million databases started daily by mid-2025, with primary use cases including serverless app backends, AI agent and codegen platform backends, multi-TB Postgres workloads, database-per-tenant SaaS isolation, and dev/test ephemeral environments.
In May 2025 Databricks acquired Neon for approximately $1 billion, integrating the team and technology as the foundation for the Databricks Lakebase product line, which entered public preview on AWS and Azure in June 2025 and reached general availability on AWS in February 2026. Post-acquisition, Neon continues to operate its standalone console and brand as a Databricks company, while expanding via add-on modules (Neon Compute, Neon Storage, AI Gateway) and partnerships such as the Stripe Projects launch integration for agent-first database provisioning.
Neon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Neon
- Legal name
- Neon, Inc.
- Website
- https://neon.tech
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Neon is a serverless Postgres platform providing autoscaling, storage-compute separated architecture, and copy-on-write branching to developers, AI agent platforms, and enterprises; acquired by Databricks in May 2025 for approximately $1 billion and now powers Databricks Lakebase.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Neon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Database Services
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Computer Storage Devices (3572)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Serverless & Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS) (HDABAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Database/Application Data Layer Modernization (DB migration, ORM, caching) (BPAEAFAL)
Keywords
Where Neon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Menlo Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Neon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Usage-based consumption pricing (compute and storage): Primary revenue is metered based on actual compute and storage consumed; the company emphasizes "No platform fees — Enterprise-grade features available to everyone, without fixed fees or monthly minimums," and inactive databases automatically pause (scale-to-zero) to lower customer cost.
- Tiered subscriptions (Free / Launch / Scale): Tiered product plans with a Scale tier that includes a 99.95% uptime SLA, SSO, and compliance features; large workloads can purchase Scale for committed production-grade capacity.
- Enterprise add-ons (compliance, networking, observability): Enterprise features such as HIPAA, SOC2, PrivateLink private networking, and OTel-compatible logs/metrics export are bundled into higher tiers without fixed fees.
- Free tier / freemium funnel: Self-serve free signup via console.neon.tech provides a freemium entry point feeding the PLG funnel.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier (self-serve signup) |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Scale tier (production / enterprise) |
| Hybrid | Pay-as-you-go | No platform fees across tiers |
Go-to-market motion6 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Neon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Neon provides a serverless Postgres-as-a-service platform with storage-compute separation that automatically scales CPU, memory, and storage, pauses to zero when idle, and exposes a full REST API plus neonctl CLI for programmatic provisioning. The platform bundles database branching with copy-on-write semantics, instant point-in-time restore, managed authentication (Neon Auth), an HTTP Data API, connection pooling, and an AI Gateway for routing to frontier and open-source models, all offered with usage-based pricing and no platform fees. Following Databricks' 2025 acquisition, this technology now powers Databricks Lakebase, embedding it inside the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform for enterprise and AI-agent workloads.
Product overview
Neon is a unified serverless Postgres platform with a platform-plus-modules architecture: the core Neon Postgres service (autoscaling, branching, connection pooling, read replicas, instant restore) is complemented by add-on modules including Neon Auth (managed authentication), Neon Compute (serverless functions, early access), Neon Storage (S3-compatible object storage, early access), and the AI Gateway (unified API to frontier and open-source LLMs powered by Databricks, early access). Programmatic access is provided through the Data API (REST), the Neon API for fleet management, the neonctl CLI, and an MCP server for AI agents, making Neon a backend purpose-built for AI-driven, agent-first, and codegen workflows.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Neon Serverless Postgres platform Core platform: a serverless Postgres-as-a-service offering with autoscaling, connection pooling, read replicas, instant restore, git-like database branching, and sub-second provisioning, targeting app developers and AI agent platforms.
- Neon Auth Managed authentication for Neon-hosted applications, with users and sessions stored directly in Postgres, eliminating the need for a separate auth service.
- Data API (REST HTTP API) REST HTTP API that exposes Neon Postgres data over HTTP, enabling HTTP-based database access from any client without a dedicated Postgres driver.
- Neon API and CLI (neonctl) Public REST API and command-line tool for programmatic management of Neon projects, databases, branches, and fleet quotas, designed for both developers and AI agents.
- Database Branches Git-like branching feature for Neon Postgres that lets teams spin up instant, editable, isolated database copies for dev/test, preview, and AI agent workflows.
- Read Replicas Autoscaling Postgres read replicas that spin up instantly and scale elastically with read traffic, designed for read-heavy applications.
- Instant Restore / Branch Restore Instant point-in-time restore for Neon Postgres databases, enabled by copy-on-write storage so customers can recover from mistakes within seconds.
- Connection Pooling Built-in Postgres connection pooling for Neon, enabling efficient management of large numbers of client connections to serverless databases.
- AI Gateway (early access) Unified API providing access to frontier and open-source AI/LLM models (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, etc.), powered by Databricks and integrated with the Neon platform.
- Neon Compute (early access) Serverless compute offering from Neon for running functions without timeouts, deployed alongside the Neon Postgres platform.
- Neon Storage (early access) S3-compatible object storage from Neon that branches with projects, extending the branching model beyond the database.
- Databricks Lakebase (Postgres-compatible OLTP) Serverless PostgreSQL-compatible OLTP database built on Neon's storage-compute separated architecture, distributed by Databricks on AWS and Azure with integration into Unity Catalog, the Data Intelligence Platform, and agent workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- 12,000,000 Postgres databases started daily
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Neon
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Neon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability8 records
Feature11 records
Neon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- StripecoreNeon is a launch partner in Stripe Projects, an agent-first CLI tool that lets AI coding agents autonomously discover, provision, and pay for Neon Postgres databases without human interaction. The integration removes a major blocker for autonomous app development, where agents could scaffold apps but previously needed humans to provision infrastructure.
- DatabricksflagshipDatabricks completed its acquisition of Neon for approximately USD 1 billion in May 2025, making Neon a Databricks company. Neon's serverless Postgres technology has been rebranded as Databricks Lakebase and is now generally available on AWS and Azure, with full integration into the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, Unity Catalog governance, and Stripe Projects / Agent Bricks workflows. The Neon's About/Careers page links to Databricks careers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Neon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Supabase: Open-source Postgres platform offering managed Postgres with auth, real-time, storage, and edge functions. Directly comparable as a developer-first Postgres-as-a-service targeting app and AI builders with similar bundled DX features (auth, branching via dev branches, API access).
- PlanetScale: Serverless database platform originally built on MySQL/Vitess with branching, autoscaling, and a no-platform-fee pricing posture. Closely comparable as a serverless DX-focused managed database with git-like branching aimed at modern app developers.
- Crunchy Bridge: Fully managed Postgres-as-a-service from Crunchy Data with strong enterprise and compliance posture. Comparable as a managed Postgres competitor targeting production workloads with similar compliance and reliability focus.
- Aiven: Multi-cloud managed data infrastructure provider offering Postgres among other databases. Comparable as a managed Postgres alternative with cross-cloud portability and a usage-based pricing model.
- Heroku Postgres: Long-established managed Postgres service within the Heroku platform, historically a default for app developers. Comparable as a managed Postgres service with tiered plans targeting application developers.
Broad incumbents
- AWS (Aurora / RDS for PostgreSQL): Hyperscaler-managed Postgres services deeply integrated into the AWS ecosystem with bundled pricing, PrivateLink, and broad compliance. Comparable as the dominant incumbent Postgres destination for enterprises that Neon must displace or coexist with.
- Google Cloud (AlloyDB / Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL): Google's managed Postgres services including the performance-oriented AlloyDB. Directly comparable as a hyperscaler Postgres offering competing for the same enterprise and AI workloads Neon targets.
- Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL: Azure's managed Postgres (flexible server and Hyperscale) with enterprise compliance and integration into the Azure data stack. Comparable as a hyperscaler Postgres incumbent that benefits from bundled enterprise agreements.
Emerging players
- Render: Cloud platform offering managed Postgres as part of its application hosting stack, popular with indie developers and small teams. Comparable as a developer-friendly managed Postgres alternative though with a narrower feature set than Neon.
- CockroachDB: Distributed SQL database with PostgreSQL wire compatibility, offering serverless and dedicated tiers with elastic scaling. Comparable as a cloud-native, autoscaling, Postgres-compatible database competing for the same modern application workloads.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Neon social profiles
Digital presenceNeon compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Neon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Neon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Neon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Neon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Neon
What does Neon do?
Neon provides a serverless Postgres-as-a-service platform with storage-compute separation that automatically scales CPU, memory, and storage, pauses to zero when idle, and exposes a full REST API plus neonctl CLI for programmatic provisioning. The platform bundles database branching with copy-on-write semantics, instant point-in-time restore, managed authentication (Neon Auth), an HTTP Data API, connection pooling, and an AI Gateway for routing to frontier and open-source models, all offered with usage-based pricing and no platform fees. Following Databricks' 2025 acquisition, this technology now powers Databricks Lakebase, embedding it inside the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform for enterprise and AI-agent workloads.
Is Neon a public or private company?
Neon is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Neon founded?
Neon was founded in 2021. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Neon based?
Neon is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does Neon make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Usage-based consumption pricing (compute and storage) is the primary driver. The others are tiered subscriptions (Free / Launch / Scale), enterprise add-ons (compliance, networking, observability) and free tier / freemium funnel.
Who are Neon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Supabase, PlanetScale, Crunchy Bridge, Aiven and Heroku Postgres. Broad incumbents are AWS (Aurora / RDS for PostgreSQL), Google Cloud (AlloyDB / Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL) and Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL. Emerging players are Render and CockroachDB.
Does Neon have an API?
Yes. Neon offers a REST HTTP Data API for querying the database and a Neon API for managing the fleet. Developers can manage databases, projects, branches, and quotas programmatically; databases can spin up in milliseconds via API. Example: a curl call returns a connection string in ~120ms. An MCP server is also offered, allowing MCP clients to connect to Neon. The CLI is distributed via npm (npx neonctl init). Developer documentation is at neon.com/docs.
What industry is Neon in?
Neon's product category is Cloud Database Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAAAC, Serverless & Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS), with a secondary code of BPAEAFAL, Database/Application Data Layer Modernization (DB migration, ORM, caching). Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 3572.