Valkey, a fork of the Redis in-memory database, has released version 8.1 a year after its inception, with co-maintainer Madelyn Olson focusing on stability and community inclusivity as they prepare for version 9. Following Redis's shift to a more restrictive license, Valkey has introduced new features and performance improvements while seeking to provide long-term support for users. Olson emphasizes the importance of community involvement to avoid burnout and ensure the project's success.

Valkey 9, an open-source key-value database forked from Redis, is set to enhance multi-tenant clustering and improve resource optimization with its upcoming release. It aims to allow multiple applications to share a single Valkey instance, addressing community demands for better handling of microservices and data management. Additionally, it will include high availability features and a safer shutdown mode, positioning Valkey to evolve into a more versatile general-purpose database beyond just caching.