MonetDB Solutions
MonetDB Solutions B.V. is a Dutch open-source database company commercializing MonetDB, a columnar in-memory analytical database system originated at CWI in 1993, serving enterprise and mid-market customers via annual support contracts, turnkey consultancy, prepaid hours, and cloud marketplace distribution across AWS and Azure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MonetDB Solutions does
MonetDB Solutions B.V. is a Dutch private company incorporated in 2013 as a spin-off from CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica), the Dutch national research institute, founded by the original core developers of the MonetDB column-store database. The company commercializes and provides professional services around MonetDB, an open-source (MPL2.0 license) columnar, in-memory optimized database management system pioneered at CWI since 1993, with over 25 years of continuous development. The technology stack comprises the server-based MonetDB, an embedded variant (MonetDB/e) packaged as a C library, and integrations including auto-tuned indices, JIT query optimization, vectorized execution, SQL:2011 compliance, full ACID transactions, HTAP capabilities, in-database UDFs (Python, R, C/C++) with TensorFlow ML integration, and a Data Vault framework supporting scientific file formats (SHP, FITS, NetCDF, GDAL).
The business model operates on a freemium-plus-services basis: the core software is free under MPL2.0 with revenue generated through Annual Support subscriptions (binding 12-month contracts via JIRA portal), Turnkey Project consultancy (architectural review, POC, performance assessment, migration, feature enhancement with 30/50/20 milestone billing), Prepaid Hours at €285/hour (40-hour minimum, friendly rates for newcomers), and upsell of these services to users acquired through AWS Marketplace (Dec 2021) and Azure Marketplace (Feb 2022) AMIs. The company is funded by two strategic investments from ServiceNow (October 2019 and December 2021), with MonetDB embedded into the ServiceNow Now Platform.
MonetDB Solutions serves enterprise and mid-market customers across telecommunications (Ericsson), electronics and semiconductors (Philips, Cisco), pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca), data analytics (Circana, Sisense, Abacus), financial services (SVB), automotive (Altair, Harman), maritime (VesselAI), search technology (Spinque), and scientific research (SKA astronomy project), alongside participation in EU Horizon 2020 projects (FashionBrain at €2.8m budget, ACTiCLOUD, ExaNeSt). Headquartered at Science Park 408 in Amsterdam with a team of approximately 11-50 employees led by CEO Niels Nes and CTO Sjoerd Mullender, the company operates on a global basis with downloads in 130+ countries.
MonetDB Solutions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MonetDB Solutions
- Legal name
- MonetDB Solutions B.V.
- Website
- https://monetdbsolutions.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MonetDB Solutions B.V. is a Dutch open-source database company commercializing MonetDB, a columnar in-memory analytical database system originated at CWI in 1993, serving enterprise and mid-market customers via annual support contracts, turnkey consultancy, prepaid hours, and cloud marketplace distribution across AWS and Azure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MonetDB Solutions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Columnar Database Management Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Columnar / Analytical Databases (OLAP) (HDAEAAAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- In-Memory Databases (HDAEAAAD), Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) Platforms (HDAEAAAN), Lakehouse Platforms (HDAEABAB)
Keywords
Where MonetDB Solutions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amsterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
MonetDB Solutions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Annual Support Contracts: Provides access to MonetDB Solutions experts for on-demand phone and video consultation via a pre-paid JIRA ticketing system. Binding one-year contract. Includes LTS support versions of MonetDB and continuous QA service for automatic and functional/performance assessment.
- Turnkey Project Consultancy: Intensive in-depth consultancy from MonetDB's expert team with clearly defined timelines. Includes architectural review, POC development, performance assessment, substitution/migration assessment, and feature enhancement. Revenue is recognized at defined project milestones (30% at signing, 50% at completion, 20% at delivery).
- Prepaid Hours: On-demand technical consultancy purchased in blocks of 40 hours at €285/hour (excl. VAT). Non-binding contract. Friendly rates for newcomers; standard rates for existing support clients. Used for diagnostics, deployment assessment, and testing/QA of MonetDB products.
- Cloud Marketplace (AWS/Azure): Free AMI/images available on AWS and Azure Marketplaces for MonetDB server. MonetDB Solutions generates revenue through upselling support and consultancy services to cloud users, rather than from the marketplace listing itself.
- Open-Source Community / Ecosystem: MonetDB core is free under MPL2.0 license. Revenue is generated indirectly through community adoption leading to consultancy, support, and turnkey project opportunities. Community drivers and tools extend the ecosystem without direct monetization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Prepaid Hours - Entry-level on-demand consultancy |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Support - Continuous QA and expert access |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Turnkey Project - Tailored development and consultancy |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
MonetDB Solutions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MonetDB Solutions develops and maintains MonetDB, an open-source columnar, in-memory database management system optimized for analytical (OLAP) workloads with hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) capabilities. The company also offers MonetDB/e, an embedded SQL engine version packaged as a C library for application-level data management. Revenue is generated through professional consultancy services including Annual Support contracts, Turnkey Project engagements, and Prepaid Hours technical consultation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MonetDB: Open-source columnar database management system for data analytics, business intelligence, and machine learning workloads.
- MonetDB/e
- MonetDB/e (MonetDB embedded)
Products and services
- MonetDB (Server)
- MonetDB/e (Embedded SQL Engine)
- MonetDB/e Java (JDBC)
- MonetDB on AWS Marketplace (AMI)
- MonetDB on Azure Marketplace
- Annual Support Contract
- Turnkey Project Consultancy
- Prepaid Hours
- MonetDB Long Term Support (LTS) Releases
- MonetDB Docker Image
Quantifiable outcome
- 10x+ faster than row-store DBMSs for OLAP workloads
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use MonetDB Solutions
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
MonetDB Solutions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability9 records
Feature10 records
MonetDB Solutions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica)coreMonetDB Solutions is a spin-off of CWI, the Dutch national research institute. The company was established by the core developers of MonetDB who conducted research at CWI. Close ongoing collaboration with CWI researchers maintains leading-edge science and technology development. CWI has also spun off Data Distilleries (acquired by SPSS) and VectorWise (acquired by Actian).
- Microsoft AzurecoreMonetDB released on Azure Marketplace in February 2022 as a freely available image with full MonetDB server capabilities. Second major cloud platform after AWS. Azure marketplace product will be regularly updated with future releases. Planned availability on DigitalOcean and Google Cloud Platform.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreMonetDB released as a free Amazon Machine Image (AMI) on AWS Marketplace in December 2021. Users can deploy MonetDB within minutes on preferred AWS instances. Scales out to multiple MonetDB instances using remote merge table functionality. Partnership enables cloud-native MonetDB deployment without installation overhead.
- TensorFlow / GooglemajorIn-database machine learning integration between MonetDB and TensorFlow. Enables seamless communication through same binary data exchange format. Both systems speak Python, focus on optimized heterogeneous hardware processing, and serve AI-enabled analytical applications. Integration enables real-time ML model training and adaptation within the database.
- FashionBrain ConsortiummajorEU Horizon 2020 project (€2.8m, 3-year) led by Dr. Alessandro Checco. Partners include Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Universite de Fribourg, Zalando SE, Fashwell AG, and MonetDB Solutions. Project aims to combine data from multiple sources to support fashion retailers through trend prediction, personalized recommendations, and fashion item search. MonetDB contributes in-database machine learning, entity linking, and JSON data support.
- ACTiCLOUDmajorEU Horizon 2020 project ACTiCLOUD focuses on developing a novel cloud architecture for cloud resource management. MonetDB Solutions contributes to developing MonetDB towards a Database-as-a-Service in the cloud, with features focused on efficient provisioning and use of virtual hardware resources. Project also involves Neo4j as another database framework.
- NumascalecoreMonetDB Solutions and Numascale collaborated to develop NumaQ MonetDB appliances combining Numascale's scalable ccNUMA hardware (up to >8TB main memory, >128 CPU cores) with MonetDB's columnar database system. The partnership targeted in-memory big data analytics market with zero-setup, pre-installed, and integrated solutions. Numascale's NumaQ shipped pre-installed with MonetDB and R statistical environment for seamless interaction.
- ExaNeSt ConsortiummajorEU Horizon 2020 project developing exascale computing prototypes (up to 10 million ARM processors). 12 partners including FORTH-ICS, Iceotope, Allinea, eXact-lab, Enginsoft, Fraunhofer ITWM, Virtual Open Systems, INAF, INFN, University of Manchester, UPV. MonetDB Solutions evaluates the platform with extremely compute-intensive big data analytics applications. Full prototype expected in 2018.
- Square Kilometre Array (SKA) / AWS AstroComputemajorMonetDB Solutions and CWI jointly developing a data processing pipeline for the SKA project (world's largest radio telescope). Grant from SKAO-AWS AstroCompute in the Cloud program to develop CI process for testing astronomical data processing workflows on AWS. MonetDB used with inline R capabilities and Data Vaults for zero-copy data analysis.
- Netherlands eScience CentermajorMonetDB Solutions joined Netherlands eScience Center's Strategic Partnership Programme for 'Big Data Analytics in the Geo-Spatial Domain'. Project partners include CWI, SPINlab (VU), TU Delft, and NLeSC. Focus on extending MonetDB with 3D point cloud and voxel support using high-resolution urban modeling of the Port of Rotterdam as proof-of-concept.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MonetDB Solutions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ClickHouse: ClickHouse is a leading open-source columnar OLAP database management system designed for real-time analytical queries. Like MonetDB, it uses columnar storage and vectorized query execution; both target high-performance analytical workloads with an open-source core monetized through managed cloud and enterprise support.
- DuckDB (MotherDuck): DuckDB is an open-source embedded analytical SQL database focused on in-process OLAP workloads. Directly comparable to MonetDB/e in product positioning (SQLite-compatible embedded analytical engine), with strong adoption in data science and analytics workflows.
- Actian Vector: Actian Vector is the commercial descendant of VectorWise, the columnar database co-founded by MonetDB CEO Niels Nes before its acquisition by Actian. It is the closest direct lineage competitor to MonetDB, sharing the same columnar research heritage and target workloads.
- Apache Druid: Apache Druid is an open-source column-oriented real-time analytics database designed for sub-second OLAP queries on large datasets. Comparable to MonetDB on architecture (columnar, in-memory optimized) and use cases (high-performance analytical workloads, time-series event data).
- SingleStore: SingleStore is a distributed HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing) database combining row and columnar storage with in-memory optimization. Directly comparable to MonetDB's HTAP positioning and target enterprise analytical workloads.
- TimescaleDB: TimescaleDB is an open-source time-series database built on PostgreSQL with hypertable architecture. Comparable as a specialized open-source analytical database extension, particularly relevant given MonetDB's planned time-series features.
Broad incumbents
- Snowflake: Snowflake is the leading cloud-native analytical data warehouse serving enterprise OLAP workloads at massive scale. Overlaps with MonetDB's enterprise analytical DB use case but as a much broader multi-cloud platform with substantially larger scale and commercial traction.
- Databricks: Databricks provides a unified lakehouse platform combining data warehousing, data lake, and ML workloads. Comparable to MonetDB's analytical DB and in-database ML capabilities (via TensorFlow integration) but as a much broader enterprise platform.
- Vertica (OpenText): Vertica is a mature columnar analytical database focused on large-scale OLAP, now part of OpenText. Directly comparable to MonetDB on columnar architecture and analytical workloads; serves as a long-standing broad incumbent in the columnar analytical DB market.
- MariaDB: MariaDB is an enterprise open-source relational database with columnar storage extensions (MariaDB ColumnStore) targeting analytical workloads. Comparable to MonetDB as an enterprise-grade open-source DB vendor offering analytical capabilities alongside general-purpose RDBMS.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MonetDB Solutions social profiles
Digital presenceMonetDB Solutions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MonetDB Solutions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
MonetDB Solutions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MonetDB Solutions 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 MonetDB Solutions
What does MonetDB Solutions do?
MonetDB Solutions develops and maintains MonetDB, an open-source columnar, in-memory database management system optimized for analytical (OLAP) workloads with hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) capabilities. The company also offers MonetDB/e, an embedded SQL engine version packaged as a C library for application-level data management. Revenue is generated through professional consultancy services including Annual Support contracts, Turnkey Project engagements, and Prepaid Hours technical consultation.
Is MonetDB Solutions a public or private company?
MonetDB Solutions is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was MonetDB Solutions founded?
MonetDB Solutions was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MonetDB Solutions based?
MonetDB Solutions is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does MonetDB Solutions make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Annual Support Contracts are the primary driver. The others are turnkey Project Consultancy, prepaid Hours, cloud Marketplace (AWS/Azure) and open-Source Community / Ecosystem.
Who are MonetDB Solutions's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ClickHouse, DuckDB (MotherDuck), Actian Vector, Apache Druid, SingleStore and TimescaleDB. Broad incumbents are Snowflake, Databricks, Vertica (OpenText) and MariaDB.
Does MonetDB Solutions have an API?
No public API is recorded for MonetDB Solutions.
What industry is MonetDB Solutions in?
MonetDB Solutions's product category is Columnar Database Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAAAG, Columnar / Analytical Databases (OLAP), with a secondary code of HDAEAAAD, In-Memory Databases. Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 7370.