Blog
Stay updated with our thoughts on data, AI, and the tools we deserve.
From STDIO to OAuth
How MCP evolved from local stdio to OAuth 2.0 for cloud-scale AI interoperability, and our implementation using Dynamic Client Registration
Speed Shapes Understanding
Speed isn't just a petabyte-scale luxury: it's the difference between insight and inertia. We've been deep in TPC-H benchmarks, tuning our analytical engine. Because when AI agents run continuously, performance isn't a vanity metric: it's economics.
NetQuack 4000x Faster
We rewrote the NetQuack DuckDB extension from scratch, replacing regex parsing and database queries with character-by-character parsing and perfect hash lookups. The result? Up to 4000x performance improvements—turning 37-second URL extractions into 0.012-second operations.
Upstreaming with AI
How we contributed 17 upstream PRs in 90 days—where AI accelerated our workflow, what we learned, and practical tips for open source success.
Rethinking the Lakehouse
This post breaks down our storage and query architecture, why we're leaning into the Apache Iceberg paradigm, and why DuckDB is emerging as our real-time query engine of choice.
Under the Hood: Agents
Altertable agents don't wait for questions: they think ahead. Powered by a custom lakehouse and our Model Context Protocol (MCP), they monitor, investigate, and act with full memory of past outcomes. This post takes you under the hood to show how our full-stack data operating system turns silent workflows into real-time insight.
What We're Building
Most data platforms wait for you to ask the right question. Altertable doesn't. We're building a data operating system — AI-native, always-on, and context-aware — that turns raw data into continuous, actionable insight. No more babysitting pipelines or chasing dashboards. Just one system that thinks with your business, not after it.
Semantic Layers in 2025
A semantic layer is the translator that turns raw warehouse tables into business language your charts, dashboards, and AI agents can actually reason about. We spun up four leading approaches: Looker, Omni, Cube.dev, and dbt MetricFlow on the same database. Below is the good, the bad, and the gotchas we hit in the wild.
From Dashboards to Dialogue
Most dashboards are never opened twice. They clutter our stacks, lag behind questions, and leave insight buried in clicks. At Altertable, we're replacing dashboard sprawl with AI agents that surface context and options before the fire drill starts. You stay in control. They just do the legwork.
Relearning the Craft
AI-first development has shattered old certainties—prompts are now code, green CI means nothing, and observability must track behavior. Here's how we're relearning the craft.
Behind the Stack
This post explores our tech choices: Rails for backend velocity, Rust for high-performance ingestion, React and Urql for responsive UIs, Iceberg for data lake, Trino for federated querying and DuckDB for speed. Built from the ground up for both human users and autonomous agents.
SaaS Pricing Starts with Value
SaaS pricing hasn't kept up with how modern teams build or use software. This post breaks down why per-seat billing lingers, how a few companies have tried to move things forward, and what value-aligned pricing should look like in the AI era.
Building Trust, Byte by Byte
At Altertable, trust isn't an add-on: it's our foundation. Drawing on years of experience at Algolia, Front, and Sorare, we're building a data platform where security, compliance, and transparency come standard. From SOC 2 readiness to infrastructure as code, we're doing things right from day one — because your data deserves nothing less.
The Data Stack Is Broken
Most data today sits idle - trapped behind layers of complexity, bloated budgets, and brittle tooling. The modern data stack promised agility, but delivered a slow, siloed maze. At Altertable, we believe it's time to rethink the foundation: one unified, AI-driven platform that turns your data into an always-on insight engine.
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Our Manifesto
The stack is broken: slow, fragmented, reactive. Our manifesto is a call to wake it up. It's time for data that works like your best teammate: always on, always thinking, always ready to help.
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