Redis
Redis makes the in-memory database software embedded in most companies' tech stacks.
On the record
Checkpoint: Redis Software 7.2 reaches end of life, forcing a customer migration decision
The call
Redis is growing on AI demand while a free rival fork eats its old caching business underneath it, and the two trends are racing each other.
Redis makes fast data storage that companies use for caching and real-time work. It has 12,000 customers paying $300 million a year, but AWS and Google both released a free copy called Valkey and made it the default option in their services, which is eating into Redis's base business. Redis is betting it can move upmarket to AI memory and vector search products faster than Valkey takes away its core customers, but these new products were just released and are not clearly better than what AWS and Google can build themselves.
Why
01
AI pressure: Redis's own AI tailwind (vector search, agent memory via RedisVL). AI is feeding Redis for now, RedisVL downloads up 10x YoY, but AWS and Google could build equivalent agent-memory tools natively. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: AWS and Google, via the Valkey fork now defaulted in ElastiCache and Memorystore. Valkey is a free, open fork of old Redis code now the default choice in two major cloud caching services, hitting the commodity core. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Over 12,000 customers and 50+ accounts paying above $1M a year, deep workflow embedding that makes ripping Redis out costly.
What would change this call
AWS ElastiCache or Google Memorystore report Valkey adoption share among new caching deployments over next 2-3 quarters. Shows whether hyperscaler-native Valkey is displacing Redis in commodity caching workloads.
Redis discloses ARR growth and >$1M account retention/expansion in next 2-3 quarterly updates. Tests whether enterprise switching costs hold despite Valkey's spread.
Named paid enterprise logos publicly using Iris or Feature Form appear within 6-12 months. Would show AI/agent-memory products are winning deals hyperscaler equivalents are not.
Redis discloses ARR growth and >$1M account retention/expansion in next 2-3 quarterly updates. Tests whether enterprise switching costs hold despite Valkey's spread.
Named paid enterprise logos publicly using Iris or Feature Form appear within 6-12 months. Would show AI/agent-memory products are winning deals hyperscaler equivalents are not.
Key numbers
- $300M ARR
- ~200 roles cut globally
- ~1M RedisVL downloads, up 10x YoY
Named risks
- Valkey, free and hyperscaler-defaulted, actively eroding Redis's commodity caching revenue base.
- Iris and Feature Form are newly launched (weeks to months old) and unproven against hyperscaler-native equivalents.
- 200-role July 2026 layoff and reorg could disrupt execution shortly after the $300M ARR milestone.
- No priced funding round or IPO since 2021 despite repeated CEO statements that one is coming.
- Redis Software 7.2 end-of-life (2026-02-28) forces legacy customers to choose Redis 8, Valkey, or paid support.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Valkey | losing to | Default in AWS ElastiCache and Google Memorystore; 70-83% enterprise adoption/consideration as of 2026-05-05 |
| AWS | losing to | ElastiCache defaults to Valkey, bypassing Redis's own managed offering as of 2026-05-05 |
| Google Cloud | losing to | Memorystore defaults to Valkey as of 2026-05-05 |
| DragonflyDB and KeyDB | contesting | Redis-protocol-compatible performance alternatives competing for same workloads as of 2026-03 |
| Pinecone, Qdrant, Weaviate, Milvus | contesting | Purpose-built vector databases competing directly for AI/RAG vector-search workloads, 2026-05-27 |
| AWS, Databricks, Google Cloud, Snowflake | contesting | TechTarget notes Redis Feature Form is 'not unique' vs their comparable ML feature-store offerings, 2026-04-20 |
Questions people ask
- Is Redis profitable in 2026?
- Redis has not disclosed profitability. It is privately held and reported surpassing $300M in annual recurring revenue on January 27, 2026, up from about $200M ARR in 2023, but no net income or margin figures have been published.
- Could AI replace Redis?
- Unlikely to be replaced outright. Redis is infrastructure AI agents run on, not a thin AI wrapper, and was named the top pick (42%) for agent memory storage in the 2025 Stack Overflow survey, though generic caching is being commoditized by the free Valkey fork.
- Is Redis losing to Valkey?
- Valkey, the AWS/Google-backed fork created after Redis's March 2024 license change, is now the default in AWS ElastiCache and Google Memorystore, with Percona reporting 70-83% enterprise consideration or adoption as of May 5, 2026.
- Who owns Redis?
- Redis Inc./Ltd. is privately held and venture-backed, with no IPO to date. Its last priced round was a $110M Series G in April 2021 led by Tiger Global with SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing it near $2 billion; Tiger and Viola sold $200-300M in secondary shares in April 2024 at a similar valuation.
- What is Redis's biggest competitor?
- Valkey, the Linux Foundation backed fork of Redis created after its 2024 license change, is the most direct threat, now defaulted across AWS ElastiCache and Google Cloud Memorystore as of May 2026, alongside vector database rivals like Pinecone and Qdrant.
- Will Redis IPO soon?
- CEO Rowan Trollope has repeatedly said an IPO is 'still coming' and 'very much in the cards,' but as of this writing in mid-2026 no S-1 has been filed and the company's last disclosed valuation remains about $2 billion from 2021.
Timeline
- 2026-07-15CEO announces ~200 global role cuts, ~70 in Israel, tied to AI-first reorg
- 2026-05-18Launches Redis Iris, an AI agent context engine combining memory and retrieval tools
- 2026-04-20Announces Redis Feature Form GA preview, an enterprise ML feature store
- 2026-01-27Announces surpassing $300M in annual recurring revenue
- 2025-10-09Acquires Featureform to build ML feature-store capability
- 2025-05-01Releases Redis 8.0 under new tri-license including OSI-approved AGPLv3
- 2024-11Original creator Salvatore Sanfilippo rejoins as developer evangelist
- 2024-04-04Tiger Global and Viola sell $200-300M in secondary shares above $2B valuation
- 2024-03Switches core license to SSPL/RSAL, triggering the Valkey fork
- 2021-04Closes $110M Series G led by Tiger Global at ~$2B valuation
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Redis passes $300M in annualized recurring revenue (2026-01-27)
- Redis hits $300M ARR as AI workloads drive growth (2026-02-11)
- Redis (company) -> Funding
- Tiger Global and Viola sell $200-300M worth of Redis shares (2024-04-04)
- An organizational update from Redis CEO Rowan Trollope (2026-07-15)
- Employee Count & Headcount Data (2026-06-29)
- Redis bets big on an open source return (2025-05-01)
- Redis is now available under the AGPLv3 open source license (2025-05-22)
- Redis Acquires Featureform (2025-10-09)
- Context is all you need: Introducing Redis Iris (2026-05-18)
- Community Erosion Post License Change (2026-05-05)
- Redis unveils Feature Form to improve AI, ML workloads (2026-04-20)