Data Without Downtime: Spencer Kimball’s Pursuit of Resilience

In a field dominated by the likes of Oracle, MongoDB, and SQL Server, New York-based database company CockroachDB sets itself apart with a singular focus: resilience. Though unconventional, its name is no accident.

“Cockroaches are hard to kill—that’s their most impressive quality,” Spencer Kimball, co-founder and CEO of Cockroach Labs, said. “When we were designing the database, we wanted something equally resilient.”

AIM caught up with Kimball last month when he was in Bengaluru for his third trip to India and second as the CEO of Cockroach Labs. “It’s funny, when I first thought of the name, it was just a placeholder. Now, I have to explain it to everyone, from investors to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. And guess what, people never forget it.”

He pointed out that the name has proven effective in creating lasting impressions, especially in discussions with industry leaders like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and JP Morgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon.

Always a Coder at Heart

Kimball believes the key to entrepreneurship lies in addressing a problem you deeply understand rather than imagining someone else solving it. For him, this challenge was related to databases.

He started programming at the age of 12. “I’ve always loved solving problems,” he said. “Coding was about immediate gratification—you write something, it works (or doesn’t), and you see the results right away.”

When he co-founded Cockroach Labs in 2015, Kimball was deeply involved in writing code for CockroachDB. “Once I start coding, I don’t want to stop. But as a CEO, my role had to evolve.”

Today, Kimball focuses on strategy, building teams, and scaling the business. “The milestones have been incredible,” he reflected. “But sometimes, you look at the mountain ahead and think, we’ve only just begun.”

Drawing inspiration from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, he said, “To run six companies, you need intuition, vision, and conviction.” Kimball applies this focus to Cockroach Labs, driving resilience and empowering teams to tackle complex challenges.

A Natural Fit for India’s Scale

Kimball was all praises for India’s “incredible entrepreneurial mindset”. “Whether it’s a food delivery app or a video streaming platform, the scale here is massive.” 

CockroachDB fits well in India’s landscape of homegrown businesses, such as those equivalent to DoorDash (Zomato) and Netflix (Jio Cinema). “These businesses are serving a 1.4 billion population. They need systems that can keep up,” Kimball explained.

The company has established a 55-person team in Bengaluru, with plans for rapid expansion. “We want our India team to tackle the most complex problems,” Kimball said. “This isn’t about outsourcing, it’s about building excellence.”

The company’s model of offering its full enterprise platform for free to startups until they hit $10 million in revenue resonates strongly here. “Startups in India are ambitious. They’re building for scale from day one. We want to be the foundation they grow on,” Kimball said.

In 2020, Bengaluru attracted over $10 billion in venture capital investments, surpassing leading hubs like San Francisco and London. Statistics highlight Bengaluru’s burgeoning startup landscape, boasting over 10,000 startups valued at approximately $50 billion.

The Future of Databases in an AI World

When in India, Kimball visited Tiruvannamalai, where he experienced firsthand how AI could transcend its typical use cases. Using an AI tool, he learned the meaning of the mantra Om Namah Shivaya. “The AIs are quite knowledgeable about spiritual matters,” he observed. 

CockroachDB, however, remains focused on a more grounded challenge: shaping the next wave of AI applications. Built on a foundation of resilience and scalability, it is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of an AI future. 

As businesses integrate AI, their operational infrastructure must meet real-time demands without compromising reliability. “You can’t have downtime when you’re dealing with real-time data,” Kimball emphasises. “CockroachDB ensures that systems stay operational, no matter what.” 

In its evolution, CockroachDB is exploring advanced use cases, including Vector databases. “Every interaction a customer has could generate data that improves the experience,” he explained. “CockroachDB is built to handle that kind of scale.”

Still, Kimball is pragmatic about the company’s approach towards AI. “We’re not adding AI to our name or pivoting to follow the hype,” he said. Instead, Cockroach Labs is committed to delivering a platform that businesses can trust for decades to come—a foundation as resilient as its namesake.

Resilience for the Next Decade

Kimball’s vision for the future is clear. “The next decade is about resilience. As systems grow more complex, businesses need platforms that can adapt and evolve without missing a beat. That’s what we’re building.”

India is central to this journey. “Bengaluru is already a key part of our operations,” Kimball said. “And as we grow, this team will lead the way in solving some of the hardest problems in technology.”

Circling back to the name, Kimball said, “People ask if I regret naming it CockroachDB. I tell them, not for a second. It’s memorable, it’s symbolic, and it’s who we are—resilient, adaptable, and here to stay.”