# Upstash

> Upstash is a serverless data platform built for developers who deploy at the edge. Its flagship product is a Redis-compatible database that talks over HTTP instead of a persistent TCP connection, which makes it work inside serverless and edge runtimes where traditional Redis breaks. Around that core it has added QStash (a serverless message queue and scheduler), Upstash Vector (a serverless vector database), Search, and Workflow (durable serverless functions). Everything is priced per request with a guaranteed cap, so developers start free and pay only for what they use. Founded in 2020 by ex-Hazelcast engineers, Upstash powers Vercel KV under the hood and reached $1M ARR two years after its seed round.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** San Jose, California, United States
- **Founders:** Enes Akar (Co-founder & CEO), Mehmet Dogan (Co-founder & CTO), Bilal Yasar (Co-founder)
- **Team size:** ~23 employees
- **Products:** Upstash Redis, QStash, Upstash Vector, Upstash Workflow, Upstash Search
- **Notable:** Reached $1M ARR just two years after its seed round (February 2024)., Raised a $10M Series A led by a16z., Became the engine behind Vercel KV.

## Products & services

- **Upstash Redis** — Serverless, Redis-compatible database with an HTTP/REST API that works in edge and serverless runtimes where TCP connections fail. Used for caching, session storage, rate limiting, and leaderboards.
- **QStash** — Serverless messaging and scheduling service - an HTTP-based message queue with delivery guarantees, retries, and cron scheduling. Reached general availability in October 2025.
- **Upstash Vector** — Serverless vector database for embeddings, using DiskANN indexing to keep vector search cost-effective for AI applications.
- **Upstash Workflow** — Durable, serverless workflow functions built on QStash for long-running, reliable background jobs - positioned as the successor to the deprecated Upstash Kafka.
- **Upstash Search** — Serverless search product for adding full-text and semantic search to applications.

## Achievements

- Reached $1M ARR just two years after its seed round (February 2024).
- Raised a $10M Series A led by a16z.
- Became the engine behind Vercel KV.
- Pioneered an HTTP/REST Redis API that works inside edge and serverless runtimes.
- Expanded from a single Redis product to a five-product serverless data platform (Redis, QStash, Vector, Workflow, Search) in roughly three years.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — TypeScript and Python SDKs added a flow-control management API (list, get, reset) exposing metrics like waitListSize, parallelismMax, and rateMax.
- **2025-10** — QStash and Workflow reached General Availability, adding a Prod Pack with an uptime SLA ($200/mo) plus Prometheus and Datadog monitoring integrations.
- **2025-03** — Upstash Kafka fully discontinued, with users steered toward Upstash Workflow for durable serverless functions.
- **2024-02** — Announced $10M Series A led by a16z and disclosed reaching $1M ARR.

## Links

- Website: https://upstash.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/upstash
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/upstash
- GitHub: https://github.com/upstash
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@upstash

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/upstash
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-10