This podcast episode explores LanceDB, an embedded vector store and a new type of lake house for multimodal AI. LanceDB is designed to make it easier to manage unstructured data, which is difficult to do with traditional data management tools. The company started with the file format, Lance, and then built the database on top of it. LanceDB enables the management and use of "dark data" for AI applications, such as images, videos, and vector embeddings. The episode also discusses the evolution of vector databases, the need for a unified data platform for AI, and the future of vector databases in terms of scalability and performance challenges.