AWS Acquires DuckDB
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
DuckLabs, the company behind DuckDB, is joining Amazon Web Services.
DuckLabs announced it will join AWS, effective early September. The DuckLabs team remains in Amsterdam, continuing work on DuckDB, DuckLake, and Quack. DuckDB and other open-source components will stay MIT-licensed and governed by the DuckDB Foundation. AWS committed to long-term support. Plans include a technical advisory board for the foundation and opening the extension stack for third-party signed extensions.
What commenters are saying
Commenters expressed surprise and concern about the acquisition, though many noted DuckDB remains MIT-licensed under the DuckDB Foundation, not acquired. Some worried AWS might neglect the project over time; others argued AWS tends to maintain acquired projects. A few pointed to Apache DataFusion as an alternative. Questions arose about MotherDuck's relationship to DuckLabs. One commenter offered a pre-forked distribution called Haybarn. Skepticism about the deal's size and whether it constitutes 'generational wealth' was common.