In-memory database provider Redis Labs raises $44M

Redis Labs, a database company that specializes in in-memory databases, said today it has raised $44 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs.

Redis Labs is like other typical open source-based database companies, where it offers the technology for free while charging for an enterprise tier. It’s a bet that while anyone can build something on the technology, the company will have the core competency to help companies manage their databases best.

The company offers a database option that’s designed to be faster thanks to operating a database on the server’s memory. By doing that, in theory, companies should be able to handle operations (like those executed in NoSQL). There seems to have been a bit of an uptake in database startups, given the new financing for Redis Labs as well as MongoDB confidentially filing for an IPO per our previous reporting.

Anyone can host their open-source version, but the enterprise tier offers companies the option of handling their databases in the cloud. That obviously offers benefits for companies that are looking to use the technology but have to devote resources elsewhere.

It’s a model that’s spawned a few successful companies, like Docker and Cloudera. The latter went public, initially popping around 20 percent, though it’s had a middling time in the past month or so. The former is said to be raising financing at a $1.3 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg.

Redis Labs has raised $86 million in financing to date.