I recently wrote about the ecosystem of products and providers related to the MySQL database, noting the long history of friction in the MySQL community regarding the ownership and licensing of the open-source project. Perhaps the clearest illustration of that friction is the existence of MariaDB, which was specifically created in response to concerns over the ownership and licensing of MySQL. Initially based on a fork of the MySQL codebase, the MariaDB database has been expanded with additional functionality, while the company of the same name has made a series of recent acquisitions to expand its addressable market and value proposition.
MariaDB was founded in 2010 by Monty Widenius in response to the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle. Widenius was a cofounder of MySQL, which was acquired by Sun in 2008, and was the primary author of the MySQL open-source database. Concerned that Oracle might see MySQL as a challenge to its Oracle Database product and shut down the project, Widenius created the MariaDB fork of the MySQL codebase in 2009, followed by the formation of the commercial company of the same name the following year. A non-profit entity—the MariaDB Foundation—followed in 2012 and oversees the open-source development of the MariaDB database, while the commercial company sells support and services as well as associated products. MariaDB grew steadily in the decade that followed before experiencing a significant period of turbulence that at times threatened its continued survival, but from which it has arguably emerged in a stronger position.
The rollercoaster ride began with the announcement in February 2022 that the company, then known as MariaDB Corporation AB, would merge with a special-purpose acquisition company called Angel Pond. With a pro forma valuation of $672 million, the deal resulted in the newly renamed MariaDB plc becoming publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The merger was completed in December 2022, with shares of MariaDB initially changing hands at approximately $11 per share. Within days, the price had dipped below $4, and by May 2023 had sunk below $1. The company reported a net loss of $51.9 million in its year ended September 30, 2023, on revenue up 22% to $53.1 million, and announced in October 2023 that it would reduce its workforce by 28% and discontinue its Xpand distributed database products and SkySQL database-as-a-service offering. SkySQL was spun off in December 2023, followed by the CubeWerx geospatial business a month later.
Having avoided coming completely off the rails, the company’s fortunes began to improve in September 2024 with its acquisition by K1 Investment Management and the appointment of former Actian and Micro Focus executive Rohit de Souza as CEO. MariaDB has subsequently made a series of acquisitions of its own, adding database availability and scaling expert Galera Cluster in May 2025, followed by the re-acquisition of the SkySQL business in August 2025 and the recent purchase of in-memory data processing specialist GridGain.
MariaDB was rated as a Leader and Exemplary in the 2026 ISG Buyers Guide for Data Platforms Emerging Providers, which assessed providers with revenue between $25 million and $75 million. The MariaDB database remains at the heart of the company’s portfolio. It offers support and services for the open-source MariaDB Community Server as well as the MariaDB Enterprise Platform with additional functionality for clustering, scalability, analytics and AI functionality as well as the new in-memory cache layer, courtesy of the GridGain acquisition. GridGain was recently rated as Innovative in the 2026 ISG Buyers Guide for Real-Time Data Emerging Providers, based on research conducted before the closure of the acquisition.
Now rejuvenated, MariaDB has over 700 customers, more than 400 employees and an expanded product portfolio that better positions the company to support the development of new agentic and real-time applications. It is by no means alone in doing so, and the company continues to face stiff competition from larger data platform and database-as-a-service providers and numerous open-source projects. I recommend that enterprises evaluating data platform products include MariaDB within these assessments.
Regards,
Matt Aslett