Yugabyte has secured $188 million in Series C funding, bringing its total valuation to over $1.3 billion, as it aims to further grow its field and engineering teams to expand into new markets globally. The company's distributed SQL database, YugabyteDB, is gaining popularity among enterprises and startups alike for its cloud-native, open-source features that enable scalability and geo-distribution. With the funding, Yugabyte plans to accelerate product velocity and go-to-market efforts, capitalizing on growing demand from customers seeking a streamlined operational experience for running their databases in any public, private, or hybrid cloud or Kubernetes infrastructure. The company's database is seen as an essential tool for modern applications, particularly those built using microservices and agile practices, which require flexibility and resilience to handle unexpected scaling needs and continuous availability. YugabyteDB has become the cloud-native database of choice for companies like Kroger and Hudson River Trading, allowing them to scale their databases non-disruptively and maintain data consistency, RDBMS features, and resilience in a single solution. The company is also targeting edge computing applications, which demand a new breed of data infrastructure that can handle massive volumes of machine-generated data and offer low latency access to analytics and events. With its focus on security, Yugabyte provides industry-leading features to ensure the highest levels of protection for its customers' data, while simplifying security operations through automated upgrades and patching. As the company continues to grow, it is hiring across various departments and locations to build a team of mission-driven and culture-obsessed individuals who share its long-term perspective on the world of cloud-native applications and databases.