Oracle AI Database 26ai: AI Integration in Enterprise Databases

The massive advancements in the field of AI are not stopping at the dinosaurs of the IT world—for example, relational databases. At its newly renamed flagship event, Oracle AI World—until a few weeks ago, Oracle CloudWorld—Oracle has ushered in what it considers the next great era of data processing. With the introduction of Oracle AI Database 26ai and the new AI Data Platform, the company aims to set new standards for AI integration in enterprise databases.

These announcements promise not only higher efficiency but also a seamless bridge between traditional databases and modern AI applications. The manufacturer's long-term vision is AI for Data, to create a next-generation AI-native database where AI is used throughout the data and development stack—in vector search, database management, data and application development, and analytics.

With the new version 26ai, the manufacturer believes it has taken a significant step forward. It replaces the previous version 23ai and, according to Oracle, marks a milestone in the development of autonomous database systems. As a Long-Term Support Release (LTS), it offers features that are available immediately and can be activated through a simple update process. Particularly noteworthy are the new AI vectors, which efficiently represent semantic content and lay the foundation for advanced retrieval augmented generation (RAG) applications. Oracle Manager Juan Loaiza, EVP for Oracle Database Technologies, states that this innovation makes data processing “autonomous and agentic” – thus, Oracle is right on trend with these buzzwords.

Customers are expected to benefit from a seamless transition phase: existing 23ai systems can be migrated to 26ai with little effort, while Oracle will gradually roll out future enhancements. This not only reduces administrative overhead but also minimizes security risks at a time when AI-powered attacks are increasing, according to the manufacturer.

Autonomous AI Lakehouse: Open Standards for Multicloud Environments

Another highlight among the announcements is the Oracle Autonomous AI Lakehouse, which combines the strengths of the Autonomous AI Database with the open Apache Iceberg format. This allows companies to use their existing data lakes without loss of functionality, whether for analytics or AI models. The approach breaks down existing silos and enables scalable queries across vast datasets, supported by the new Data Lake Accelerator, according to Oracle.

The platform is available across clouds: naturally Oracle's own Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Exadata Cloud@Customer. This is complemented by the Autonomous AI Database Catalog, intended as a catalog of catalogs, which unifies metadata from different systems and simplifies data discovery. Analysts from Constellation Research view this as a “long-term strategy” for Oracle: “Late to arrive, but enduring with an autonomous architecture.”

The Oracle AI Data Platform rounds off the package and aims to accelerate AI initiatives. It integrates security-critical, unified data with agentic automation, i.e., AI agents that independently take on tasks. New partnerships, for example with AMD for supercomputers or Meta for cloud computing, underscore Oracle's multicloud ambitions. Furthermore, Oracle is expanding its Database@AWS offering with AI-specific services and a partner program.

One Contract for All Clouds: Oracle Universal Credits

Oracle is taking its multicloud strategy a step further. With the newly introduced Oracle Multicloud Universal Credits, the company has created the first cross-cloud usage model, allowing customers to quickly and easily purchase Oracle's AI Database and OCI services in the cloud of their choice. The credits are valid uniformly for Oracle Database@AWS, Oracle Database@Azure, Oracle Database@Google Cloud, and OCI—and are intended to allow for a rationalization of procurement with flexible terms and consistent contracts across all platforms.

According to the manufacturer, the benefits include a central consumption model for all clouds, extended access to regions (including OCI workloads in AWS, Azure, or Google regions), and workload portability with commercial freedom. “Oracle's industry-leading multicloud solution is designed to help customers accelerate application modernization and cloud migrations,” explains Karan Batta, Senior Vice President Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. With 38 multicloud regions and this flexible model, Oracle offers more choice than ever before. Interested customers can request early access.

(olb)