Zilliz
Zilliz develops vector database technology for AI applications, building on its widely-used open-source Milvus project. The company has raised $113M, most recently in a Series B round in August 2022, and employs 145 people.
The growth story
Zilliz grew from 86 to 145 employees between 2022 and 2026, raising $113M along the way, most recently a Series B in August 2022.
About
Zilliz creates database systems optimized for AI workloads, particularly vector databases that handle unstructured data like images and text. Its products target enterprises building AI applications, offering scalable infrastructure for managing complex data types.
The company has attracted major investors including Hillhouse Investment and 5Y Capital, securing $113M in funding. While current headcount growth is unclear, Zilliz maintains a strong engineering focus, with 33 engineers among its 145 employees.
Founders and leadership
Engineering dominates Zilliz's workforce, accounting for 33 of its 145 employees. The company's leadership includes founders with deep technical expertise from developing the Milvus open-source vector database.
The Zilliz org chart
Charles Xie (CEO) leads 27 mapped leaders with 3 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 59 (+2% YoY), Sales 17 (+13% YoY), Marketing 13 (+117% YoY), Information Technology 10 (0% YoY), Human Resources 9 (+13% YoY), Operations 6 (0% YoY).
Talent flow
Zilliz recruits heavily from major tech firms, with IBM and Microsoft being its top sources of talent. Its workforce includes graduates from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Employees tend to stay for a median of 3 years before moving on.
Most common previous employers of Zilliz staff: IBM (6), Microsoft (6), Huawei (5), YITUTech (4), Oracle (4), Google (4). Former Zilliz employees most often moved to ByteDance (5), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (2), PhoenixAI (formerly CelerData) (2), Mercor (2), InfiniFlow (2), Amazon (2).
Alumni worth knowing
Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 58% direct, 26% search, 2% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Zilliz: Python (Programming Language) (26), Java (19), C++ (18), Project Management (15), Machine Learning (14), Linux (13), Go (Programming Language) (12), JavaScript (11).
Where the team actually sits
Zilliz people are concentrated in Shanghai, China (28), San Francisco Bay Area (12), California, United States (8), United States (7).
Search footprint
Zilliz attracts about 6,329 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $54K a month if bought through ads. It gained 2,231 ranking keywords and lost 2,197 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.10 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.20 / 5
- Senior management
- 3.80 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 4.10 / 5
Frequently asked
Zilliz has 145 employees as of September 2026.
Zilliz has raised $113M in total, most recently a Series B round in August 2022.
Charles Xie (CEO) sits at the top of Zilliz's reporting structure, with 3 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Zilliz staff are IBM (6 people), Microsoft (6 people), Huawei (5 people).
Former Zilliz employees most often move to ByteDance (5), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (2), PhoenixAI (formerly CelerData) (2).
Zilliz attracts about 6,329 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $54K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Zilliz staff are Python (Programming Language), Java, C++, Project Management, Machine Learning.
Zilliz staff are concentrated in Shanghai, China (28), San Francisco Bay Area (12), California, United States (8).
Zilliz has about 59 people in Engineering, up 2% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Zilliz has about 17 people in Sales, up 13% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 87 current and 107 former Zilliz profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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