LanceDB

LanceDB is an open-source multimodal lakehouse combining vector search with traditional data storage in a single system. Unlike pure vector databases like Pinecone or Qdrant, LanceDB stores vectors, text, images, audio, and structured data together, eliminating the need to synchronise data between separate systems. Built on the Lance columnar format, it offers both embedded mode for local development and serverless cloud deployment for production workloads. LanceDB is designed for teams building generative AI products, particularly retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, where co-locating vectors with source data improves performance and simplifies architecture. The Lance format provides random access to columnar data with zero-copy operations, delivering faster retrieval than traditional formats like Parquet.