AWS Buys Amsterdam-Based DuckLabs in Bid to Boost Analytics

Amazon has announced its intention to acquire DuckLabs, an Amsterdam-based company behind the open-source analytical database DuckDB. The agreement is expected to close shortly, pending customary closing conditions. AWS and DuckLabs have collaborated since 2024, with the latter bringing expertise in database engineering and a track record of building software that developers love.

When the acquisition closes, the DuckLabs team will join AWS, but the DuckDB open-source project will remain independent under the non-profit DuckDB Foundation. The project's technical direction will be led by Hannes Mühleisen and Mark Raasveldt, who co-founded DuckLabs. The acquisition does not affect users of DuckDB, as it remains free and open-source under the MIT license.

Andy Warfield, Amazon vice president and distinguished engineer, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: 'For almost a decade, the DuckDB team has worked with the idea of building a tool that lets people work with data, with confidence. I find that sentiment, not just making data easy to work with, but actively empowering people to ask questions, build, and really innovate with data, is exactly in line with how AWS and our customers think about data.'