InstantDB blog · Mar 2026
Instant's 1.0 launch post presents the product as a backend for AI-coded apps and details the multi-tenant Postgres + Clojure architecture, built-in auth/storage/presence, and open-source positioning.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Overview
InstantDB is a YC-backed, open-source backend-as-a-service for AI-coded apps that combines a real-time relational database with auth, permissions, storage, presence, streams, and offline sync.
Primary product
Real-time backend-as-a-service / client-side database for collaborative and AI-coded apps
Founded
2022
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Team size
1-10
Work style
Onsite
Industry
Software Development
Sub-industry
Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) / real-time database
Offices
2261 Market St, San Francisco, California 94114 (HQ)
New York, New York, United States
2322 Antonelli Ct Ste 200, Santa Cruz, California 95062, United States
Business model
freemium
subscription
enterprise
open source
Funding
Stage
Series A
Total raised
$22.4M
Latest round
Series A · Mar 2025
Latest amount
$11.2M
People & investors
Work & culture
Small, in-person, high-agency team that emphasizes high-integrity, optimistic, principle-oriented hackers; speed, delight, and solving hard infrastructure problems for users.
Work style
Onsite
Compensation
Public hiring page for a founding backend engineer lists 0.5%-2% equity, $150k-$200k base salary, and medical/dental/vision benefits.
Benefits
medical
dental
vision
equity
Product & market
Pricing
Freemium subscription with free, pro, startup, and enterprise tiers; free projects are never paused and commercial use is allowed.
Differentiators
- —Real-time client-side database
- —Relational queries with multiplayer-by-default semantics
- —Offline sync and optimistic updates
- —Built-in auth, permissions, storage, presence, and streams
- —Open source
- —CLI-first workflow for AI agents
- —Never-paused free tier
- —Multi-tenant Postgres-based architecture
Technology
Postgres
AWS Aurora
Clojure
TypeScript
JavaScript
React
React Native
Datalog
Google CEL
IndexedDB
AsyncStorage
Node.js
Customers
Eden
HeroUI
Prism
Mirando
TinyHarvest
developers building collaborative or AI-coded apps
Competitors
Firebase
Supabase
Hasura
Convex
Appwrite
Firestore
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
~$5M ARR (public estimate)
Estimated monthly visits
26.5K
Traffic estimate as of Jun 2026
Latest news
Hummingbird Ventures / Amplify Tech · Mar 2025
Hummingbird Ventures announced its lead investment into Instant's $11.2M Series A, describing the company's fit with AI-era backend infrastructure.
TechCrunch · Oct 2024
TechCrunch covered Instant's $3.4M seed announcement and its positioning as a modern, Postgres-based open-source Firebase alternative backed by YC, SV Angel, and notable angels.
Hacker News · Aug 2024
InstantDB launched/open-sourced on Hacker News, drawing more than 1,000 upvotes and explaining its client-side real-time database approach, offline sync, auth, and permissions.
Jobs and careers at Instant
0 jobs at Instant
No open positions
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