Neon

Neon operates a serverless PostgreSQL database designed to eliminate infrastructure management: storage and compute are separated, so compute can automatically scale down to zero when unused, with costs incurred only for actual usage.

Its standout feature is the ability to automatically create a full, isolated copy of the database for every pull request or test run ("branching") — much like Git branches, but for database state. Neon also offers an auto-generated REST interface for database access without a separate backend, serverless Node.js functions with database credentials pre-injected, S3-compatible object storage that can branch alongside the database, and an AI Gateway for unified access to different language models.

Through the official Neon MCP server, the database can be managed directly from AI agents — for example, to automatically provision a matching test database for an AI-generated code draft.

Neon is owned by Databricks, one of the bigger names in data platforms, following an acquisition, and is positioned there as a building block of Databricks' "Lakebase Postgres" strategy. Functions and object storage are available on all plans, while the AI Gateway requires paid plans with prepaid credits.

With its authentication solution, called "Managed Better Auth," which also branches alongside the database, test environments don't need to be separately populated with user accounts — they automatically inherit a consistent data state.