Pinecone Research participated in the BigANN competition, focusing on advancing large-scale vector database algorithms by optimizing and developing new techniques for Approximate Nearest Neighbor (ANN) search. Despite not being eligible to compete as organizers, Pinecone's solutions dominated all four tracks, achieving up to twice the performance of other entries. The competition emphasized throughput but Pinecone highlighted that vector databases also require capabilities like consistency, dynamic data handling, and cost efficiency, which are not captured by BigANN's focus. Pinecone used this opportunity to challenge their expertise, validate their optimization abilities, and glean insights that could be integrated into their core product to enhance performance and cost-effectiveness. The BigANN 2023 challenge introduced features like metadata filters and out-of-distribution queries, and Pinecone's success in these areas is set to inform future enhancements to their vector database solutions.