Database schema management startup Ariga Technologies Ltd. said today it has closed on an $18 million early-stage funding round led by Tiger Global, TLV Partners and with participation from some notable angel investors.

The funding was announced alongside the launch of a new version of Atlas Cloud, which is a commercial version of the open-source Atlas project built by Ariga.

Atlas is a database management tool that enables developers to define and manage their database schemas using simple code. Ariga has coined the term “schema-as-code,” and says the way its tools work are similar to “infrastructure-as-code” offerings that use code to manage cloud-based infrastructure.

Every application needs a database to store the data it uses and generates, and every database is based on a “schema,” which is an abstract design that represents the way data is stored. The database schema describes both the organization of data and the relationships between tables in a given database. Developers need to plan their database schema specifically for each application in advance, so they can understand what components are necessary and how they will connect to each other.

Ariga points out that as applications evolve, the databases that back them, including the database schema, must also change. Many developers opt to use managed databases to automate these changes instead, but there is a blind spot when it comes to schema management.

That’s a manual process, but schema changes done wrong can result in significant data loss and application downtime. Developers would rather avoid that, and that’s where Ariga’s schema-as-code offering can help.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Ariel Masraki (pictured, right, alongside co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Rotem Tamir) said database changes have long since become a central aspect of the DevOps workflow, but database schema management has been left behind. “Manual planning and verification does not cut it anymore,” he said. “Atlas, our popular open-source project, brings the schema-as-code approach to life. It lets you define the desired schema of your database, or it can infer it from your code. You only define the ‘what,’ Atlas takes care of the ‘how.’”

Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. told SiliconANGLE the importance of database schemas and the need to change them regularly is often overlooked. But it’s an important part of the application development process, he said, as digital transformation results in different kinds of transaction data becoming more, or less relevant.

“For developers, the consequence is that schema changes are necessary, even though they are difficult to perform and operate, and often require downtime,” Mueller explained. “It’s nice to see Ariga innovating in this area, with a novel approach that treats schema as code. It’s a compelling idea but Ariga needs to implement it in the right way. The uptake by ISVs and enterprises will soon show us if Ariga has done it right.”

Ariga expressed confidence that it has gone about schema-as-code in the right way. Its new offering Atlas Cloud, launching today, enhances the open-source version of Atlas with additional capabilities such as deployment and schema monitoring tools. Ariga says it’s expecting big things from Atlas Cloud given the popularity of its open-source project, which is already being used by numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Notably, Atlas and Atlas Cloud support some of the most popular open-source databases, including MySQL and PostgreSQL, plus proprietary databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, Snowflake and Redshift. The software also integrates with widely used DevOps tools such as Terraform and Kubernetes.

TLV Partners co-founder and Managing Partner Rona Segev said she has high hopes for Ariga. “We believe their deep expertise and open-source solution will revolutionize the way companies manage their database schemas, allowing them to respond quickly to customer demands and market changes while maintaining high quality and stable products,” she said.

Photo: Avi Haimovich