Velvet
Velvet is a unified data platform designed for product and engineering teams at high-growth startups. It aids in transforming every member ...
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What is Velvet?
Velvet is an AI-first data platform and AI gateway designed for engineering and product teams at high-growth startups. It warehouses every AI request to a PostgreSQL database, enabling teams to analyze, evaluate, and monitor AI-powered features in production. The platform provides an AI SQL editor that allows anyone to query databases using natural language, automatically generating SQL queries without requiring deep technical expertise.
Key features include log data warehousing, experiment tracking, continuous testing, caching capabilities, and an SDK for bringing context into production with a single line of code. Velvet uses ClickHouse under the hood to unify data sources into one queryable interface, where each data source becomes a table. The platform supports OpenAI and Anthropic endpoints, PostgreSQL databases, and can integrate with most databases, third-party tools, and event-based data sources.
Velvet is specifically built for engineers using LLMs in production who need to troubleshoot, calculate costs, evaluate models, and generate datasets for fine-tuning and training workflows. Product owners can use it to access unified data sources across their tech stack, ask questions across disparate data sources, and turn saved queries into features using the product-ready API.
Velvet pricing
Pricing model: Free
Free tier available with up to 10,000 requests per month. It's free to get started by creating an account at usevelvet.com/register. Paid plans are available for higher usage volumes and additional features like advanced caching and detailed analytics. Exact pricing tiers are not publicly displayed on the website; users are directed to email [email protected] or schedule a call for pricing details.
Velvet pros
- Warehouses every AI request to PostgreSQL for analysis
- AI SQL editor accepts natural language questions
- Two lines of code to start using the gateway
- Supports OpenAI and Anthropic endpoints
- ClickHouse-powered unified data interface
- SDK brings context into production with one line
- Free tier up to 10k requests per month
- Built-in error healing in AI editor
- Editor recommends related queries automatically
- Turn saved queries into product features via API
- Real-time data queries in milliseconds
- Collaborative workspace for entire team
- Supports hosted database or bring your own
- Experiment tracking and continuous testing
- Caching capabilities for cost optimization
Velvet cons
- Acquired by Arize in 2025, standalone future unclear
- Paid plan features not transparently documented
- Limited database support documentation
- Requires PostgreSQL for warehousing
- No published pricing tiers visible
- Early-stage startup with limited track record
- Third-party integration list requires manual request
- Hosted database option may have scaling limits
Frequently asked questions about Velvet
What is Velvet?
Velvet is an AI-first data platform and AI gateway designed for engineers to analyze, evaluate, and monitor AI features in production. It warehouses every AI request to a PostgreSQL database, enabling log data analysis, experiment tracking, continuous testing, and caching.
How do I get started with Velvet?
Create an account at usevelvet.com/register, read the docs at docs.usevelvet.com, set your baseURL to the Velvet gateway, and connect your Postgres instance to store logs. Setup requires just two lines of code to start warehousing requests.
What databases does Velvet support?
Velvet works with most databases and supports PostgreSQL for warehousing requests. Under the hood, each organization's workspace is a ClickHouse database. If your database isn't listed, you can email [email protected] to request support.
What AI models does Velvet support?
Velvet supports OpenAI and Anthropic endpoints, with support for other models available on paid plans. It acts as a proxy between your app and these LLM providers, warehousing all requests for analysis.
How does the AI SQL editor work?
The AI SQL editor allows anyone to ask natural language questions about their data. It introspects on your data schema to automatically write SQL queries, includes built-in error healing, and recommends additional queries based on data patterns and shapes.
Can I use my own database?
Yes, you can use Velvet's hosted database or connect your own PostgreSQL database. Most teams decide to bring their own database once ready to ship to production. Managed deployments are optimized for scale, latency, and compliance.
What is the free tier limit?
The free tier allows up to 10,000 requests per month, which is perfect for getting started and testing. This includes basic log warehousing and analysis capabilities.
Who is Velvet designed for?
Velvet is designed for engineering and product teams at high-growth startups who are building and deploying LLM-powered applications. It makes everyone on the team a data engineer by enabling non-technical stakeholders to query data using natural language.
What happened to Velvet?
Arize, the enterprise platform for AI evaluation and observability, acquired Velvet in 2025. Velvet's founders Emma and Chris joined forces with Arize to accelerate adoption of Arize's unified AI platform.
How do I get pricing information?
Pricing details are not publicly displayed. You can email [email protected] with questions or schedule a call to learn about paid plans for higher usage volumes and advanced features like enhanced caching and detailed analytics.