GraalVM is a high-performance runtime that can accelerate applications written in Java and other JVM languages. It includes a new just-in-time (JIT) compiler called Graal that can compile code ahead-of-time into a standalone native image executable. This ahead-of-time compilation allows applications to start faster and use less memory compared to the traditional HotSpot JVM. GraalVM is best suited for applications that benefit from fast startup times and a small memory footprint like command-line tools, containerized services, and embedded systems.