Scaling Vector Search in Distributed Databases: The YDB Journey, Alexander Zevaykin, #FOSSASIA 2026

Vector search is at the core of modern AI applications, but scaling it across distributed systems presents major engineering challenges. This talk explores how YDB, an open source distributed SQL database, evolved from basic vector search to a highly scalable architecture capable of managing billions of vectors across thousands of nodes. Learn the key stages of building vector search in a distributed database, including indexing strategies, performance optimization, and the challenges of maintaining speed, scalability, and reliability at massive scale. We’ll also examine how YDB's global indexing approach enables efficient similarity search for AI, machine learning, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workloads. Perfect for database engineers, AI practitioners, and platform teams interested in vector databases, semantic search, distributed systems, and large-scale AI infrastructure. FOSSASIA Summit 2026 held in Bangkok, is Asia's leading Open Source tech conference featuring sessions on #AI, #Cloud, #DevOps, #Open Hardware, #Security, #Web #Mobile Technologies, #Web3, and #Databases. Learn more: http://summit.fossasia.org Session slide: https://eventyay.com/ev/88882f3e/talk... #FOSSASIA #FOSSASIASummit #opensource #FOSS