Amazon’s cloud unit AWS has agreed to acquire Amsterdam-based startup DuckLabs, the company behind the open-source analytical database DuckDB, as part of a push to strengthen its analytics capabilities.
The acquisition, announced on Wednesday, is expected to close shortly pending customary conditions. Upon completion, the DuckLabs team will join AWS, with the project’s creators—Hannes Mühleisen and Mark Raasveldt—continuing to lead the open-source development of DuckDB under the MIT license. The database will remain free and independently governed by the non-profit DuckDB Foundation.
AWS and DuckLabs have collaborated since 2024, integrating DuckDB into AWS services to improve data processing efficiency. The deal underscores AWS’s focus on delivering faster, simpler, and more cost-effective analytics tools for customers.
Andy Warfield, Amazon vice president and distinguished engineer, said the partnership reflects a shared vision with DuckLabs to build tools that enable reliable data analysis. “For almost a decade, the DuckDB team has worked with the idea of building a tool that lets people work with data, with confidence,” Warfield stated. “We’ve been working closely with the DuckLabs team for the past two years, and I am so excited at the opportunity to work with them even more closely.”
