Stackable
Stackable GmbH, founded in 2020 in Germany, offers a Kubernetes-native modular open-source data platform bundling Apache Kafka, Trino, Spark, Airflow, and other tools for European enterprises in financial services, manufacturing, government, and research, emphasizing data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersWedel, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Stackable does
Stackable GmbH is a German open-source data infrastructure company founded in September 2020 in Wedel, Schleswig-Holstein by Lars Francke (CTO) and Sönke Liebau (CPO). The company develops the Stackable Data Platform (SDP), a Kubernetes-native modular platform that bundles curated open-source data applications—Apache Kafka, Trino, Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, OpenSearch, Apache Druid, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Superset, Apache ZooKeeper, Apache Hadoop HDFS, and Open Policy Agent—into a unified, interoperable system deployable on-premises, in any cloud, or in hybrid configurations. Stackable's core technical contribution is a set of Kubernetes operators and the stackablectl CLI that automate deployment, scaling, and lifecycle management of these open-source stacks, with daily automated interoperability testing across versions and Kubernetes distributions.
Stackable serves primarily European enterprise customers across financial services (atruvia, Discovery), manufacturing (Martin GmbH), government and urban data platforms (Freiburg Digital, Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister), healthcare cloud (Rhoencloud), and research/open data (GBIF), with data sovereignty and European regulatory compliance (NIS2, DORA, GDPR) as central pillars of its value proposition. The company monetizes through three commercial plans—Subscription (self-managed with support and updates), Managed Service (Stackable operates the platform), and Expertise (consulting and training)—supplemented by an open-source free tier that drives developer-led adoption via GitHub, Discord, and comprehensive documentation. As of September 2025, the company employed approximately 17-20 people and reported seven-digit annual revenue in EUR.
Recent strategic positioning has centered on regulatory credibility—Stackable was authorized as one of only 23 German CVE Numbering Authorities (CNAs) in May 2025 and was appointed to the European Commission's Cyber Resilience Act expert group at the end of 2024—alongside product innovation in AI-enabled workflows (Trino AI functions, OpenSearch RAG, Airflow Human-in-the-Loop). The platform supports European data sovereignty requirements and cloud-agnostic deployment, with major releases roughly every three to four months adding capabilities such as declarative Spark pipelines, KRaft-mode Kafka, Iceberg V3 deletion vectors, and OPA-based policy authorization across the stack.
Stackable firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stackable
- Legal name
- Stackable GmbH
- Website
- https://stackable.tech
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stackable GmbH, founded in 2020 in Germany, offers a Kubernetes-native modular open-source data platform bundling Apache Kafka, Trino, Spark, Airflow, and other tools for European enterprises in financial services, manufacturing, government, and research, emphasizing data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stackable industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source Data Platform Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud) (HDABABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Managed Container Platforms (Kubernetes & Container PaaS) (HDABAAAB), Cloud-Native Application Development (Containers/Kubernetes/Serverless) (BPAEAFAE), Developer Tooling & SDK Platforms (BPAMAOAD)
Keywords
Where Stackable is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wedel
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stackable business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription: Subscription-based licensing for the Stackable Data Platform with different tiers including managed service options. Provides ongoing support, updates, and access to commercial features.
- Managed Service: Fully managed service option where Stackable operates the platform for customers, handling infrastructure management, updates, and support.
- Expertise / Professional Services: Consulting and professional services for implementation, training, and specialized expertise around the Stackable platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier available for getting started |
| Subscription | Annual | Subscription plan for self-managed deployments |
| Subscription | Annual | Managed Service for fully operated deployments |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Expertise/Professional Services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Stackable product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stackable builds and sells the Stackable Data Platform (SDP), a Kubernetes-native modular open source data platform that bundles curated open source data applications (Apache Kafka, OpenSearch, Trino, Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, Apache Druid, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Superset, Apache Hadoop HDFS, Apache ZooKeeper, and Open Policy Agent) into a single interoperable platform managed through dedicated Kubernetes operators and the stackablectl CLI. The platform is offered as open source software with commercial Subscription, fully Managed Service, and Expertise/Professional Services tiers, deployable on-premises, in any cloud, or in hybrid environments with European data sovereignty as a core principle.
Product overview
Stackable offers a modular open source data platform built on Kubernetes that provides a curated selection of best-in-class open source data applications (Apache Kafka, OpenSearch, Trino, Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, Apache Druid, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Superset, Apache ZooKeeper, Apache Hadoop HDFS, and Open Policy Agent) that work together seamlessly and can be deployed on-prem, cloud, or hybrid environments. The platform is offered as open source software with commercial subscription and managed service options. Individual Kubernetes operators manage each data application, and the stackablectl CLI enables deployment and management. Recent releases (25.7, 25.11, 26.3) have added AI capabilities including Trino AI functions for NLP tasks, OpenSearch RAG for knowledge retrieval, and Airflow Human-in-the-Loop workflows for process automation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Stackable Data Platform (SDP) Kubernetes-native modular open source data platform that provides curated open source data applications (Apache Kafka, OpenSearch, Trino, Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, Apache Druid, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Superset, Apache Hadoop HDFS, Apache ZooKeeper, and Open Policy Agent) that work together seamlessly and are deployable on-premises, in any cloud, or in hybrid environments. Targets enterprise data platform teams in financial services, manufacturing, government, and research.
- Stackable Managed Service Fully managed offering of the Stackable Data Platform in which Stackable operates the platform end-to-end, handling infrastructure management, updates, monitoring, and support for the customer. Targets enterprises that want sovereign, European-hosted data infrastructure without running Kubernetes themselves.
- Stackable Expertise (Professional Services) Consulting, implementation, training, and knowledge transfer services around the Stackable Data Platform, delivered by Stackable's team and through training partners such as Ordix. Targets enterprise data platform teams that need help designing, deploying, and customizing complex open source data architectures.
Quantifiable outcome
- 114 CVEs fixed in single release (SDP 26.3) including 9 critical and 40 high-severity vulnerabilities
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Stackable
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Stackable technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration32 records
AI capability9 records
Feature7 records
Stackable partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OrdixcoreOrdix is a consulting partner that developed the OPA Authoriser for Apache NiFi plugin in partnership with Stackable. They also provide Stackable training programs. The partnership focuses on authorization and security integration for the platform.
- David GitterminorIndependent developer who created the OPA Authoriser for Apache NiFi plugin in partnership with Ordix and Stackable. Plugin provides fine-grained policy-based authorization with Rego rules for NiFi.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stackable competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation: Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation (formerly OpenShift Container Storage) ships Kubernetes operators and integrated data services as part of the broader OpenShift platform. It competes for the same Kubernetes-native enterprise data infrastructure workload but as part of a much larger hybrid cloud portfolio.
- Qlik (Attic) / Talend: Qlik's data integration and analytics platform competes for European enterprise data platform budgets, including regulated industries. Stackable competes with Qlik's open data lakehouse and streaming capabilities, though Qlik is a much broader BI/integration suite.
- AWS EMR / OpenSearch Service: AWS EMR (Spark/Hadoop), OpenSearch Service (OpenSearch), and MSK (Kafka) are hyperscaler managed services for the same open source data workloads Stackable bundles. They are the largest indirect competitor via pricing scale and enterprise bundling, though Stackable differentiates on portability, data sovereignty and on-prem deployment.
- DataStax: DataStax commercializes Apache Cassandra and offers an Astra DB managed data platform on Kubernetes. It targets the same enterprise open-source data platform buyer with a managed service model, though focused on NoSQL rather than the streaming/lakehouse workloads Stackable emphasizes.
- Bitnami (Broadcom): Bitnami packages and distributes hundreds of open source applications as container images and Helm charts, and is now part of Broadcom's Tanzu portfolio. It overlaps Stackable's distribution and packaging of open source data apps for Kubernetes, though at a much broader catalog scope.
Direct peers
- Starburst: Starburst is the commercial vendor behind Trino (formerly PrestoSQL), offering enterprise data lakehouse and federated query capabilities. Stackable also offers a Trino operator alongside Kafka, Spark and Airflow; both target enterprises needing open source query and lakehouse stacks.
- Aiven: Aiven provides managed open source data infrastructure (Kafka, OpenSearch, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, etc.) across multiple clouds. Stackable competes for the same open-source-curated-data-platform buyer, differing by emphasizing on-prem/Kubernetes deployment over Aiven's pure-cloud hosted model.
- Confluent: Confluent is the leading commercial vendor of Apache Kafka and a full managed data streaming platform. Like Stackable, it bundles open source streaming and data infrastructure into an enterprise subscription product and serves regulated financial and public-sector buyers.
- Cloudera: Cloudera sells an enterprise data platform built on open source Hadoop ecosystem projects with hybrid/on-prem deployment. Stackable's positioning — curated open source data apps deployed on Kubernetes with interoperability guarantees — directly competes for the same hybrid data platform buyer.
Emerging players
- KubeBlocks: KubeBlocks is an open source Kubernetes operator framework that packages many stateful data infrastructure components (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, etc.). It overlaps Stackable's Kubernetes-operator approach but covers a broader OLTP/OLAP mix rather than Stackable's analytics-focused stack.
Market position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stackable social profiles
Digital presenceStackable compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Stackable financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stackable leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Stackable funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stackable M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stackable
What does Stackable do?
Stackable builds and sells the Stackable Data Platform (SDP), a Kubernetes-native modular open source data platform that bundles curated open source data applications (Apache Kafka, OpenSearch, Trino, Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, Apache Druid, Apache HBase, Apache Hive, Apache Superset, Apache Hadoop HDFS, Apache ZooKeeper, and Open Policy Agent) into a single interoperable platform managed through dedicated Kubernetes operators and the stackablectl CLI. The platform is offered as open source software with commercial Subscription, fully Managed Service, and Expertise/Professional Services tiers, deployable on-premises, in any cloud, or in hybrid environments with European data sovereignty as a core principle.
Is Stackable a public or private company?
Stackable is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stackable founded?
Stackable was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stackable based?
Stackable is headquartered in Wedel, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Stackable make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription is the primary driver. The others are managed Service and expertise / Professional Services.
Who are Stackable's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, Qlik (Attic) / Talend, AWS EMR / OpenSearch Service, DataStax and Bitnami (Broadcom). Direct peers are Starburst, Aiven, Confluent and Cloudera. KubeBlocks is listed as an emerging player.
Does Stackable have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stackable.
What industry is Stackable in?
Stackable's product category is Open Source Data Platform Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABABAC, Kubernetes & Container Platform Management (Private Cloud), with a secondary code of HDABAAAB, Managed Container Platforms (Kubernetes & Container PaaS). Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 7372.