Key Highlights
- AWS has finalized a definitive agreement to bring DuckLabs, the Amsterdam team responsible for the open-source DuckDB analytical database, under its umbrella.
- DuckDB’s open-source status will be preserved, with the project, DuckLake, and Quack continuing as free resources under the independent DuckDB Foundation’s governance.
- Founding members Hannes MĆ¼hleisen and Mark Raasveldt will maintain their leadership roles, guiding both the team and the project’s technical roadmap.
- A collaborative partnership between AWS and DuckLabs has existed throughout 2024, making this acquisition a natural progression.
- The strategic acquisition is designed to deliver faster, more affordable, and streamlined analytics solutions for AWS users.
Amazon has confirmed the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire DuckLabs, the Amsterdam-headquartered company responsible for developing DuckDB, a popular open-source analytical database. The financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed.
Today, @ducklabs_com is joining @awscloud. The move is expected to be completed by early September.
Joining AWS gives DuckLabs the resources and reach to bring DuckDB, DuckLake, and the Quack protocol to many more developers and organizations ā and to pursue ideas at a scaleā¦ pic.twitter.com/RtiNhsOSHq
ā DuckDB (@duckdb) August 26, 2026
Through this acquisition, the entire DuckLabs engineering team will transition to AWS. The database’s creators, co-founders Hannes MĆ¼hleisen and Mark Raasveldt, will retain their positions, continuing to steer both the team and the open-source initiative’s strategic technical vision following the deal’s completion.
Amazon emphasized a crucial distinction: the acquisition targets DuckLabs, not the DuckDB project itself. The open-source database will maintain its free status and independent governance through the non-profit DuckDB Foundation, operating under the MIT license framework.
“This partnership with AWS provides us with the infrastructure and scale to deliver this technology to a significantly broader audience of developers and enterprises,” MĆ¼hleisen and Raasveldt stated on their company blog.
The collaboration between AWS and DuckLabs dates back to 2024, positioning this acquisition as a natural evolution of an existing partnership rather than an unexpected corporate move.
Strategic Benefits for AWS
Andy Warfield, vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon, highlighted DuckLabs’ proven ability to create developer-friendly software solutions. This reputation carries significant weight in the technical community.
“That philosophyānot merely simplifying data workflows, but genuinely enabling people to explore, create, and truly drive innovation through dataāaligns perfectly with AWS’s approach and what our customers expect from their data infrastructure,” Warfield explained.
According to Amazon’s statement, the acquisition aims to deliver enhanced speed, simplified workflows, and reduced costs for AWS analytics services. This value proposition directly addresses the needs of enterprise customers operating data-intensive workloads.
The Amsterdam-based DuckLabs team will maintain their current location following integration with AWS, the announcement confirmed.
Continuity for the DuckDB Community
Amazon took care to address concerns within the DuckDB community. The company explicitly stated that current DuckDB users will experience no disruption or changes to their workflows.
The DuckLake and Quack initiatives are specifically excluded from the acquisition scope. These projects, along with DuckDB itself, will continue operating under the DuckDB Foundation’s oversight.
This commitment carries weight because DuckDB has cultivated a dedicated community of data professionals and engineers. Any suggestion that Amazon might restrict or commercialize the project would have triggered significant backlash.
MĆ¼hleisen and Raasveldt have guided DuckDB’s evolution for close to ten years. Their ongoing leadership represents a cornerstone of Amazon’s messaging around this transaction.
Amazon anticipates completing the transaction in the near term, pending standard closing requirements. Following completion, the company plans to provide additional information regarding integration strategies and collaborative workflows between the teams.
According to Amazon’s statement, the DuckLabs team delivers “world-class database engineering expertise,” which AWS will leverage to enhance its analytics offerings for enterprise customers.
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