You can perform a direct upgrade to the new release 23ai database from the following releases:

• 21c
• 19c

The path that you must take to upgrade to the latest Oracle Database release depends on the release number of your current database.

If your current Oracle Database is a release earlier than Oracle Database 19c, then you cannot directly upgrade your Oracle Database to the latest release. In this case, you are required to upgrade to an intermediate release before upgrading to Oracle Database 23ai.

If you cannot carry out a direct upgrade, then upgrade to the most recent release where direct upgrades from your earlier release Oracle Database are supported.