What AutoMQ does

AutoMQ is a cloud-native infrastructure company that has rebuilt Apache Kafka with a diskless architecture running on S3-compatible object storage while maintaining 100% protocol compatibility with the Kafka API. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Hong Kong with engineering operations in Hangzhou, the company serves enterprise customers across e-commerce, automotive, gaming, fintech, and travel who require high-throughput, low-latency message streaming without the cost and operational overhead of self-managed Kafka clusters. Its flagship offering, AutoMQ Cloud, is delivered in both SaaS and Bring-Your-Own-Cloud (BYOC) deployment models across AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud, with additional modules covering Kafka migration (AutoMQ Linking), Iceberg/Delta lakehouse integration (Table Topics), managed CDC connectors, and multi-region disaster recovery.

The underlying technology replaces Kafka's local-disk storage layer with a shared object storage model, supported by a write-ahead log (WAL) configurable across S3, EBS, and NFS backends. This design eliminates cross-AZ replication traffic, enables second-level stateless broker auto-scaling, and delivers sub-10ms P99 latency. The product is open-sourced under Apache 2.0, has accumulated 10,000+ GitHub stars and a 10,000-member Slack community, and is engineered by a team that includes core contributors to Apache Kafka.

AutoMQ monetizes through usage-based managed-service fees (ingress, egress, retention, and uptime charges), tiered subscriptions (Dev $100/mo, Pro $200/mo, Enterprise $1,200/mo), committed-use enterprise contracts, marketplace sales on all major cloud providers, and perpetual on-premises software licenses. Its go-to-market combines product-led growth (free trial, interactive demo, pricing calculator), community-led open-source adoption, hyperscaler marketplace listings, enterprise direct sales, and a flagship OEM integration with Tencent Cloud EMR. The company has raised approximately $14M in angel and angel+ financing from Chuxin Capital, GSR United Capital, Vision Plus Capital, and Yinxinggu Capital, and holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, and GDPR certifications.

Name

AutoMQ

Legal name

AutoMQ HK Limited

Website

https://automq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AutoMQ is a Hong Kong-based infrastructure company (founded 2022) that delivers a cloud-native, diskless reimagining of Apache Kafka on S3-compatible object storage with 100% protocol compatibility, serving enterprise streaming workloads across multiple cloud providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Streaming Infrastructure

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud Management Platforms (CMP) & Single-Pane-of-Glass Control (HDABABAD)

Keywords

• Cloud-native kafka
• Diskless streaming platform
• Message queue software
• Managed kafka service
• Event streaming infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Hangzhou

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Usage-Based Managed Service (BYOC): Pay-as-you-go pricing based on actual data transferred. Components include data ingress ($0.008–$0.02/GiB), data egress ($0.00275–$0.0067/GiB), data retention ($0.005–$0.01/GiB), and cluster uptime ($0.137–$1.644/hour). Volume-based discounts apply automatically.
2. Subscription Plans: Three tiered plans: Dev ($100/mo), Pro ($200/mo), Enterprise ($1,200/mo). Each tier provides different ingress limits, partition limits, retention limits, SLA, and support levels.
3. Marketplace Subscriptions: Available via AWS, GCP, and Azure marketplaces allowing customers to use existing cloud credits and commitments.
4. Committed Use Contracts: Custom baseline agreements for maximum savings. Available for enterprise customers requiring dedicated capacity or specific terms.
5. Software Licenses: Perpetual license option for AutoMQ Software (on-premises deployments). One-time purchase for software usage rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

AutoMQ sells a cloud-native, diskless Apache Kafka platform that replaces local-disk storage with S3-compatible object storage while preserving 100% Kafka protocol compatibility. Its core offering is a fully managed message queue and stream storage service available in BYOC and SaaS deployment models, delivered alongside self-managed on-premises software, zero-downtime migration tooling, a Kafka-to-Iceberg table feature, multi-region disaster recovery, and a managed connector service.

Product overview

AutoMQ is a cloud-native reimagining of Apache Kafka that replaces the storage layer with object storage (S3) while preserving the entire Kafka compute layer. The product portfolio consists of AutoMQ Cloud (the flagship fully managed service available in BYOC and SaaS deployment models), AutoMQ Software (self-managed deployment for on-premises/private cloud), and several integrated modules including AutoMQ Linking (zero-downtime migration from any Kafka), Table Topics (Kafka-to-Iceberg Zero-ETL), Multi-Region Cluster (disaster recovery), and Managed Connectors (300+ pre-built connectors). All offerings share the Apache 2.0 licensed open-source diskless Kafka engine as their foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AutoMQ Cloud: A new generation of fully managed Kafka cloud service that is 100% Kafka compatible, offering enterprise-grade capabilities including high availability, elastic scalability, and cost advantages with 50% savings on a pay-as-you-go basis. Available in both SaaS and BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) models.
• AutoMQ Software
• AutoMQ Linking
• Table Topics

Products and services

• AutoMQ Cloud Fully managed Kafka cloud service offering 100% Apache Kafka compatibility with cloud-native storage architecture, elastic scaling, sub-10ms P99 latency, and up to 77% cost savings versus traditional Kafka. Targeted at enterprise data platform teams.
• AutoMQ Software Self-managed Kafka distribution for organizations running on-premises or private cloud environments using S3-compatible object storage backends. Targets platform teams that own Kubernetes delivery and infrastructure controls.
• AutoMQ Linking Zero-downtime migration and replication tool that moves customers from any Kafka-compatible cluster (self-hosted Kafka, AWS MSK, Confluent Cloud) to AutoMQ with byte-level replication, 100% Flink state retention, lossless rollback capability, and topic-level migration granularity.
• Table Topics Feature that automatically materializes Kafka topics as Apache Iceberg or Delta Lake tables, enabling Zero-ETL analytics. Supports query engines including AWS Athena, Spark, Trino, DuckDB, and ClickHouse.
• Multi-Region Cluster Disaster Recovery Disaster recovery solution operating as a single logical stretch cluster spanning 2-3 regions with RPO=0 (zero data loss) and RTO approximately 10 seconds. Eliminates complex MirrorMaker-based Active-Active or Active-Passive setups.
• Managed Connectors Fully managed Kafka Connect service providing 300+ pre-configured connectors for streaming data between AutoMQ and CDC databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB), data warehouses (Snowflake), data lakes, object storage, search systems, and SaaS applications.
• AutoMQ Open Source Apache 2.0 licensed open-source diskless Kafka engine with 10,000+ GitHub stars. Core technology that replaces Kafka's local-disk storage with cloud-native S3 storage while maintaining 100% Kafka protocol compatibility.

Quantifiable outcome

• 77% lower cost vs Apache Kafka self-hosted (~$17,300 vs ~$75,700/month for 200 MiB/s write benchmark)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

AI capability1 record

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Amazon Web ServicescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2025AWS Partner Network member. AutoMQ is listed on AWS Marketplace and available for deployment across all AWS regions. Deep integration with AWS services including S3, EC2, EKS, and cloud-native tooling. Joint go-to-market as AWS completes managed Kafka solution.
• Google Cloud PlatformcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGCP Partner with AutoMQ available on GCP Marketplace. Supports GKE deployment and GCP storage backends.
• Microsoft AzurecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAzure Partner with AutoMQ available on Azure Marketplace. Supports AKS deployment and Azure Blob Storage.
• Oracle Cloud InfrastructureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOCI Partner with AutoMQ available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
• Alibaba CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationAutoMQ supports Alibaba Cloud deployment including OSS storage and cloud-native services.
• Tencent CloudflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAutoMQ is integrated as a first-party service in Tencent Cloud EMR product, available on both international and China sites. Users can provision fully configured AutoMQ clusters in under 2 minutes directly from the EMR console. Deepest integration partnership with automatic cluster provisioning.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Confluent: The leading commercial managed Kafka vendor and AutoMQ's most direct competitor. Confluent Cloud offers a managed Kafka service; AutoMQ positions itself as a cloud-native, cost-disruptive alternative with 100% protocol compatibility.
• Apache Kafka: The open-source streaming platform AutoMQ reimagines. AutoMQ replaces Kafka's local-disk storage with S3 while preserving Kafka's protocol layer, making self-managed Kafka a direct incumbent and a migration source.
• Redpanda Data: A Kafka-compatible streaming platform built in C++ for higher performance and lower latency. Redpanda competes directly with AutoMQ in the Kafka-replacement space, especially for cost-sensitive, performance-critical workloads.
• WarpStream: A Kafka-compatible streaming service built natively on object storage (S3) with a zero-disk architecture — the closest architectural analogue to AutoMQ. WarpStream is a direct peer in the diskless-Kafka category.
• StreamNative: Provides managed Apache Pulsar and offers Ursa, a Kafka-compatible engine. StreamNative competes with AutoMQ in cloud-native streaming and managed messaging for enterprise workloads.

Broad incumbents

• AWS Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK): AWS's managed Kafka service is AutoMQ's primary reference competitor in cost-comparison collateral. As the hyperscaler incumbent with bundled cloud spend, MSK represents both the largest displacement opportunity and the largest competitive threat.
• Google Cloud Pub/Sub: Google's hyperscaler-managed messaging service offering auto-scaling, pay-per-use pricing. While not Kafka-compatible, it competes with AutoMQ for greenfield streaming workloads on GCP.
• Azure Event Hubs: Microsoft's managed event streaming service on Azure. Competes with AutoMQ for enterprise streaming workloads, especially within Azure-centric customers, though it does not offer Kafka API compatibility.
• IBM Event Streams: IBM's managed Apache Kafka service built on top of Confluent's enterprise product. Targets large enterprises in regulated industries — overlapping with AutoMQ's enterprise positioning but with deeper IBM integration.

Emerging players

• Aiven for Apache Kafka: Aiven provides managed open-source data infrastructure (Kafka, Postgres, ClickHouse, etc.) across multiple clouds. While not specializing exclusively in Kafka, it competes with AutoMQ for multi-cloud managed streaming workloads at mid-market and enterprise.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/AutoMQ/automq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/automq
• Xx.com/AutoMQ_Lab

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AutoMQ