In a move poised to reshape enterprise data management, Fivetran and dbt Labs announced plans to merge in an all-stock deal that will form a $600 million annual revenue powerhouse dedicated to building open, AI-ready data infrastructure. The combination brings together two influential players in modern analytics—one known for seamless data movement, the other for data transformation—under a shared vision of openness and automation.
The two companies will have an extensive joint customer list that includes global brands such as Siemens, Roche, and Condé Nast.
Under the agreement, George Fraser, CEO of Fivetran, will lead the new company as chief executive, while Tristan Handy, founder and CEO of dbt Labs, will assume the role of president. “This is a refounding moment for Fivetran and the broader data ecosystem,” Fraser said. “As AI reshapes every industry, organizations need a foundation they can trust—open, interoperable, and built to scale with their ambitions.”
A Combined Force in Data Infrastructure
Fivetran’s strength lies in automated data pipelines that transport massive amounts of information from applications, databases, and SaaS platforms to cloud-based analytics systems. Its software has demonstrated import performance of over 500 GB/hour on large databases, offering organizations a consistent view of their information.
dbt Labs, in contrast, focuses on transforming that data—structuring, cleansing, and preparing it for analysis. Its open-source dbt Core has become a staple among data engineers, while dbt Fusion, the commercial version, provides advanced performance and observability features.
By merging, the companies aim to provide an end-to-end open data stack that integrates data movement, transformation, metadata management, and activation. The platform is designed to work across any compute engine, BI tool, or AI model—anchored by open standards like SQL and Apache Iceberg—to help enterprises avoid vendor lock-in.
“dbt has always stood for openness and practitioner choice,” Handy said. “By joining with Fivetran, we can accelerate our mission and deliver the infrastructure that practitioners and enterprises need in the AI era.”
Positioning for the AI Future
The timing of the merger underscores the growing demand for AI-ready data systems. As enterprises race to build generative AI applications, the challenge lies in unifying fragmented data pipelines that span multiple clouds, formats, and governance tools. The open architecture of the new entity suggests it will be well positioned to support that transformation.
Both companies have emphasized their commitment to maintaining dbt Core as open source under its existing license, ensuring continuity for the vibrant global community of developers who rely on it. This move reflects the companies’ broader goal of promoting open standards and interoperability, a stance that differentiates them in a market with plenty of proprietary AI platforms.
The New Standard for Open Data
The merger is one of a few across the data management landscape. Major players are positioning for dominance as AI adoption accelerates: Salesforce moved to acquire Informatica in May of this year, and Databricks snapped up Tabular last year.
Fivetran, last valued at $5.6 billion, and dbt Labs, valued at $4.2 billion, share prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz. Executives say the new company will operate near cash-flow break-even and could eventually be positioned for a public listing, though no timeline has been disclosed.
With the merger, Fivetran and dbt Labs seek to establish what they call the “standard for open data infrastructure.” The unified company hopes to offer enterprises a simplified path to manage data pipelines at scale, designed to make open standards the centerpiece of AI-driven business intelligence.
