The Ruby on Rails application framework has been influential in shaping modern web development, but advancements in databases have been largely focused on scalability and optimization for large-scale companies. The shift to serverless technology has led to significant changes in how developers write business logic, with serverless offering economic benefits such as reduced costs and increased flexibility. However, the lack of innovation in database solutions for mid-tier applications has left a gap that PlanetScale aims to fill by designing a data platform that serves the needs of modern application developers, providing an easy on-ramp and flexible pricing model.