Snowflake enhances AI app development with new marketplace features

Snowflake has announced a series of updates aimed at simplifying the development and deployment of AI applications. The new features focus on enhancing the Snowflake Marketplace and improving data collaboration capabilities, with the goal of reducing technical and commercial barriers to AI adoption.

Key Highlights

Agentic Products on Snowflake Marketplace

• Direct Implementation: Companies can now deploy pre-trained AI agents directly within their Snowflake environment, eliminating the need to move or copy data.
• Security Benefits: Agentic Products run in the customer’s own Snowflake environment, ensuring data security and compliance.
• Faster Integration: Teams can quickly incorporate third-party agentic experiences into their applications.

Streamlined External Data Access

• Cortex Knowledge Extensions: Enable AI assistants to leverage data from partners like The Associated Press, USA TODAY Network, and Stack Overflow while respecting intellectual property and commercial terms.
• Semantic Models: Shared via the marketplace, these models allow teams to immediately query data from providers such as CARTO, Cotality, and CB Insights without additional setup.

Flexible Purchasing and Payment Models

• Marketplace Capacity Drawdown Program: Expanded to include AI Data Cloud partners like dbt, Immuta, and Monte Carlo, allowing customers to use Snowflake credits for purchases.
• Customized Offers: Customers can negotiate tailored terms and pricing for partner products, speeding up deal closures.

Enhanced Security and App Management

• Snowflake Native App Framework: Now supports multiple app versions for seamless rollouts and A/B testing.
• Improved Observability: Features like custom metric issuance and session debug mode simplify troubleshooting.
• Permissioning Upgrades: Automated privilege grants and role-based access controls enhance security.

Privacy-Conscious Collaboration

• Data Clean Rooms: New advertising measurement capabilities allow media publishers, advertisers, and measurement partners to share data securely.
• Horizon Catalog: Accelerates discovery of sensitive data through Universal Search and a request-for-access workflow.

Why It Matters