In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Rob Ocel talks with PlanetScale CEO Sam Lambert about what “database scale” actually looks like in 2026. Sam shares migration stories from companies that moved at the perfect time and others that waited until they were already in trouble, plus why sharding and reliability are never just “magic” if your queries and data model are a mess.
They also cover PlanetScale’s evolution beyond its MySQL and Vitess roots into Postgres, Metal, and what’s coming next for sharding in the Postgres world. Along the way, they connect the dots to AI workloads, which are increasingly write heavy and put new pressure on performance, uptime, and security.
What You'll Learn:
- How to spot the “right time” to migrate databases before you’re on fire (and what happens when you wait too long)
- What PlanetScale actually gives you “for free” at scale, and what it can’t fix (bad schema, missing indexes, terrible SQL)
- Why “auto” database magic is usually a tradeoff, and what to ask for when you want to peek behind the curtain
- What PlanetScale is becoming beyond MySQL/Vitess, including Postgres, Metal, and Nikky (sharding for Postgres)
- How AI workloads are changing database patterns, especially the shift toward write heavy systems and why that pressures reliability and security
Sam Lambert on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isamlambert/
Rob Ocel on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robocel/
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