London's SurrealDB raises $23M for AI database
London-based SurrealDB has closed a $23M (£17M) extension to its Series A, bringing its total funding to $44M. The company develops a multi-model database designed to unify relational, document, graph, and vector data models for AI-native applications. The new capital is intended to fuel the development of its platform, which is built to power the next generation of agentic AI and horizontal SaaS solutions.
- This funding round is an extension of the Series A, with new investors Chalfen Ventures and Begin Capital joining existing backers FirstMark and Georgian. The total Series A now stands at $38M, bringing SurrealDB's total funding to $44M. Mike Chalfen, founder of Chalfen Ventures, will join the company's board of directors. - Founded in 2021 by brothers Tobie and Jaime Morgan Hitchcock, SurrealDB is built in Rust and designed to prevent the need for multiple databases by unifying various data models like relational, document, graph, and vector into a single platform with a unified query language, SurrealQL. The founders' initial inspiration came from their experience in 2015 while building a complex SaaS system for golf course analytics, which required them to use multiple databases like InfluxDB, OrientDB, and MySQL. - The platform is positioned as a foundational data layer for "agentic AI," which refers to autonomous AI systems that can plan, act, and learn with minimal human supervision. SurrealDB 3.0 is specifically designed to provide memory and context for these AI agents, allowing them to recall past interactions and understand complex relationships within data. - The UK's tech startup ecosystem saw robust seed-stage funding in 2025, with AI-focused companies accounting for over 60% of deals. While total venture funding in the UK for early 2026 is down 22.85% compared to the same period in 2025, London remains a top European hub, raising more in Q1 2025 than France, Germany, and Spain combined. - In the programmatic advertising space, 2026 trends show a move away from renting technology towards owning it, with a focus on white-label DSPs and first-party data control to combat rising fees and privacy changes. There is also a significant push for platforms that offer real-time, in-flight campaign optimization and measurement, rather than relying on post-campaign analysis. - Recent notable CTO appointments in the UK include Lee Stretton at UrbanChain, a rapidly growing clean-tech firm, and Alexander Matthey, formerly of Adyen and AI startup Parloa, who joined payments platform PPRO. - The 2026 Formula 1 season will feature 24 races. Teams are currently in pre-season testing in Bahrain, with drivers like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton expressing concerns about new rule changes for the upcoming season.
