In this module, learners will dive deep into Vector Databases and their critical role in powering modern Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and Agentic RAG applications. We begin by understanding embeddings and similarity search, covering distance metrics such as cosine similarity, Euclidean distance, and k-nearest neighbors (k-NN). Learners will explore the landscape of open-source vector databases, including FAISS, ChromaDB, Qdrant, and Weaviate, and understand where and how each can be applied. Through hands-on sessions, we’ll cover indexing, embedding, and querying using ChromaDB, as well as integrating Qdrant with LangChain to build a basic RAG pipeline.
We’ll then transition into the core principles of RAG, covering its architecture, components, and tokenization strategies, and how vector search integrates into LLM pipelines. Learners will understand how RAG compares to finetuning and prompt engineering, and how chunking strategies (semantic vs. fixed-size) impact performance. This leads into advanced retrieval techniques such as metadata filtering and hybrid search, culminating in the development of an Agentic RAG application, where multiple agents collaborate to retrieve and reason over information.
Learners will also explore embedding-powered AI agent use cases, understand LLM integration via LangChain, and examine how enterprises use vector databases for personalization, intelligent search, and AI-driven recommendations.
The course wraps up with two real-world projects: a Document Q&A Bot using ChromaDB or Qdrant with OpenAI, and an AI Agentic RAG system. These capstone projects reinforce concepts around knowledge storage, retrieval, and building scalable, intelligent GenAI systems.