Amazon Web Services has agreed to acquire DuckLabs, the Amsterdam-based company whose team created the open source DuckDB analytical database. The purchase adds rapidly growing data technology to AWS’s expanding analytics portfolio.

The transaction is expected to close shortly, with DuckLabs becoming part of AWS in early September. Its team of more than 30 people will remain based in Amsterdam, led by co-founders and DuckDB creators Hannes Mühleisen and Mark Raasveldt.

DuckDB is an embeddable analytical database that enables applications to run SQL queries without requiring a separate database server. The acquisition gives AWS the engineering team behind a database that has gained significant developer adoption, at one point reaching more than three million downloads per day.

For enterprise users, the technology offers a lightweight way to analyze data where it resides rather than moving it into a dedicated data warehouse. That approach is particularly relevant as companies store ever-growing volumes of data in cloud object storage and seek cheaper ways to query it.

Cloud data architectures are shifting toward open formats and direct analysis of data stored in object platforms like Amazon S3. That model creates new competitive pressure across a market that includes AWS partners and rivals Snowflake and Databricks.

“This isn’t just an open-source software land grab,” said Brad Shimmin, VP and Practice Lead at The Futurum Group. “I really see it as a strategic talent acqui-hire.”

“I think AWS wants the world’s best embedded database architects optimizing query engines natively against its own S3 storage. That in turn enriches S3, making it much more than a dumb data layer—it was already leaving that behind, by the way, with S3 Tables. Now AWS can give enterprises a faster, significantly cheaper alternative to spinning up heavy cloud data warehouses for mid-sized workloads.”

DuckDB Project Will Remain Independent

AWS and DuckLabs have already worked together on integrating DuckDB with AWS services, including Amazon S3 Tables and Amazon SageMaker Lakehouse. AWS now plans to use DuckLabs’ expertise to make its analytics services easier to use and less expensive.

The acquisition does not give Amazon ownership of the DuckDB open source project. DuckDB will remain under the independent nonprofit DuckDB Foundation and retain its MIT license. Related open source projects DuckLake and Quack will also remain freely available.

That separation is significant because DuckDB has developed an ecosystem extending beyond AWS. For instance, MotherDuck, a Seattle-based company that offers a cloud analytics service built on DuckDB, has worked with the DuckLabs team for four years.

DuckLabs had operated without venture capital since its founding more than five years ago, relying instead on commercial support and feature-development contracts. As DuckDB adoption expanded, its founders became concerned that the company’s limited resources could restrict the project’s growth. Joining AWS provides funding and infrastructure without requiring DuckLabs to build a larger sales and operations organization.

AWS also plans changes intended to broaden participation in the DuckDB ecosystem. The DuckDB Foundation is expected to create a technical advisory board that gives community members input into development priorities. DuckDB will also support signed extensions created by outside developers and organizations.

Financial terms were not disclosed.