In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, recorded at All Things Open in Raleigh, NC, Rob Ocel talks with Tobie Morgan Hitchcock, co-founder and CEO of SurrealDB, about redefining databases. SurrealDB consolidates the complexity of using multiple database models—relational, graph, document, and more—into a single platform, enabling advanced queries and features like time travel. Toby shares insights on its innovative approach to separating storage and compute layers, the challenges of building from scratch, and the enthusiastic adoption by developers and enterprises.
Chapter
00:00 - Introduction and Setting the Stage
01:46 - Why Create Another Database?
04:31 - How SurrealDB Works
07:36 - The Developer Experience with SurrealDB
11:01 - Time Travel in Databases
16:21 - Challenges and Opportunities in Database Innovation
20:01 - Educating Developers on SurrealDB + Community and Adoption
Follow Tobie Morgan Hitchcock
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobiemorganhitchcock
Twitter: https://x.com/tobiemh
