Amazon Acquires DuckLabs to Integrate DuckDB Team into AWS

Amazon has agreed to acquire DuckLabs, bringing its team behind the popular open-source DuckDB database into AWS. The deal aligns with Amazon’s strategy to transform S3, its cloud storage service, into a platform for data analysis rather than mere storage. The acquisition includes co-founders Hannes Muhleisen and Mark Raasveldt, who will continue leading the DuckDB project from Amsterdam. DuckDB remains free and open-source under the MIT license, overseen by the DuckDB Foundation. Analysts note that Amazon’s move reflects a pattern of acquiring successful open-source projects to monetize them through cloud services. Jordan Tigani of MotherDuck suggests this could strengthen DuckDB’s adoption, as Amazon has an incentive to keep it open and widely used to drive compute usage on its infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to close soon, with DuckLabs becoming part of AWS by early September. Critics debate the implications for open-source innovation, while supporters argue it ensures DuckDB’s continued growth and accessibility.