What MariaDB Foundation does

MariaDB Foundation is a Delaware/Massachusetts-incorporated non-profit (MariaDB Foundation LLC) established to ensure the continuity, open governance, and community-led development of MariaDB Server, an open source relational database management system built by the original developers of MySQL. The foundation stewards the MariaDB codebase, maintains CI/build infrastructure (buildbot with 67,000+ active build IDs as of mid-2026), coordinates contributions through public channels (Zulip, mailing lists, Jira), and produces multiple concurrent release branches including 10.6 LTS, 10.11 LTS, 11.4 LTS, 11.8 LTS, 12.3 LTS, and 13.x rolling. Its core technology stack includes Galera Cluster 4 (acquired from Codership Oy in 2024), Oracle Database compatibility layers, Temporal Data Tables, the CONNECT storage engine, MariaDB Vector for AI/vector similarity search, and the PARSEC authentication plugin.

The foundation does not sell software or perform custom development; it operates on a sponsorship-funded model with tiered corporate contributions — Diamond (€500k/year, currently Amazon and DBS), Platinum (€100k/year, including Intel, IBM, ServiceNow, WebPros, MariaDB Corporation), Gold (€50k/year, including Hetzner, IONOS, Aqtra, Scarf), and Silver (€25k/year). MariaDB Server is distributed free of charge under GPLv2 via direct download, YUM/apt package managers, cloud marketplaces (AWS, GCP, Azure, Alibaba, Tencent), Docker Hub, and as the default database in major Linux distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, SUSE). Users served include open source application projects (Nextcloud, Passbolt, Wikimedia Foundation), cloud providers embedding it in managed services, Linux distribution maintainers, and platform companies such as Aqtra that build ERP/business application infrastructure on top of it. The foundation is operationally distinct from MariaDB Corporation, the commercial entity that offers MariaDB Enterprise Server.

The foundation operates with a very small team (1-10 employees per firmographic data) and runs infrastructure servers in Finland and Germany in addition to its U.S. registered office in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Its go-to-market is entirely community-led, with no direct sales motion; adoption is driven through download channels, ecosystem partnerships, conference presence (MariaDB Day, KubeCon, Slush, Open Source India, regional meetups), and sponsor-backed development of compatibility, clustering, documentation, and localization workstreams.

Name

MariaDB Foundation

Legal name

MariaDB Foundation LLC

Website

https://mariadb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MariaDB Foundation is a non-profit that maintains MariaDB Server, an open source relational database built by MySQL's original developers and shipped as the default in most Linux distributions. It is funded by corporate sponsorships (Amazon, DBS, Intel, IBM, ServiceNow) and serves developers, cloud providers, and Linux distributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Relational Database

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) (HDAEAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) Platforms (HDAEAAAN), Database Tools & Ecosystem (Replication, Backup/Recovery, HA/DR, Monitoring) (HDAEAAAO), Managed Databases (Relational/NoSQL/In-Memory DBaaS) (HDABAAAE)

Keywords

• Open source database
• Relational database software
• Database community foundation
• MySQL compatible database
• Open source stewardship

Headquarters

HQ city

Middletown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Donations: MariaDB Foundation is a non-profit organization that relies entirely on corporate sponsorship and donations to fund its activities. Sponsorship levels are Diamond (500k EUR/year), Platinum (100k EUR/year), Gold (50k EUR/year), and Silver (25k EUR/year). Sponsors fund general development areas such as Oracle compatibility, CONNECT storage engine, documentation, and migration practices. The foundation does not do custom feature development or work for hire.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MariaDB Foundation maintains and stewards MariaDB Server, an open source relational database management system (RDBMS) released under GPLv2 and developed by the original MySQL creators. It produces the MariaDB Community Server across preview, rolling, and long-term support release tracks, and integrates advanced clustering via Galera Cluster 4, Oracle Database compatibility, temporal data tables, the CONNECT storage engine, MariaDB Vector for AI workloads, and the PARSEC authentication plugin. The Foundation does not sell software; it operates as a non-profit and is funded entirely through corporate sponsorships and donations.

Product overview

MariaDB Foundation maintains MariaDB Server as a unified open source relational database platform. The core offering is MariaDB Server itself, with Galera Cluster 4 providing high-availability clustering capabilities (acquired through Codership Oy). MariaDB Community Server is the open source edition, while MariaDB Enterprise Server is the commercial offering from MariaDB Corporation. The foundation supports multiple release tracks: preview releases (like MariaDB 13.1), rolling releases, and long-term support versions (LTS). Recent additions include MariaDB Vector for AI/vector similarity search applications and compatibility features with Oracle Database and Temporal Data Tables for point-in-time querying.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MariaDB Server

Quantifiable outcome

• Part of most cloud offerings and default in most Linux distributions

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

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

• PassboltminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 June 2025Passbolt, an open source password manager, has renewed its Silver sponsorship of MariaDB Foundation for another year, continuing its long-term support for the MariaDB open-source ecosystem. Passbolt uses MariaDB as part of its privacy-first technology stack.
• AqtraflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2025Aqtra, a Development Infrastructure Layer (DIL) platform for building ERP solutions, business applications, and workflows, has selected MariaDB Server as the strategic database foundation for its next-generation architecture. Aqtra joined as a Gold Sponsor of MariaDB Foundation. The partnership includes joint technical content, deployment guides, reference architectures, and ecosystem hub visibility. CTO Ilia Kors stated MariaDB stood out as 'mature, reliable, and truly open.'
• Codership OycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024MariaDB acquired Galera Cluster technology through Codership Oy in May 2024. Galera provides synchronous multi-master clustering essential for high-availability database deployments. MariaDB initially planned to remove Galera from Community Server 12.3 but reversed the decision after community backlash, with co-founder Max Mether and community describing it as a 'friendly reset.'
• NextcloudcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNextcloud is a user of the MariaDB Privacy-First Stack (along with Passbolt and MariaDB Server). Nextcloud Community Conference 2025 is hosted in Berlin. Nextcloud is a visible supporter of open source infrastructure.
• Wikimedia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWikimedia Foundation (operator of Wikipedia) is a user of MariaDB in production. Contributor Manuel Arostegui presented on 'Chasing bugs in production' at MariaDB Server Fest 2022. Wikimedia represents a large-scale, real-world production MariaDB deployment.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PostgreSQL Global Development Group: The community of core developers stewarding PostgreSQL, the leading open source RDBMS. Directly comparable as another vendor-independent open source RDBMS project competing for the same developer mindshare and cloud provider partnerships that MariaDB Foundation targets.
• MySQL (Oracle): The original open source RDBMS from which MariaDB was forked by its original developers. Competes head-to-head with MariaDB Server in the same workloads, with MariaDB explicitly positioned as the community-governed alternative to MySQL's Oracle ownership.
• SQLite (Hipp, Cantwell & Mostrom): Widely deployed open source embedded SQL database maintained by a small core team. Comparable to MariaDB Foundation as another community-maintained open source RDBMS with massive distribution, though optimized for embedded rather than client-server deployments.
• Percona: Open source database services company supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. Comparable as an independent commercial steward of open source relational databases, offering services and tooling that parallel MariaDB Corporation's role around the upstream community.

Broad incumbents

• MariaDB Corporation: The commercial entity that historically monetized MariaDB Enterprise Server and support. While legally separate from the Foundation, it shares codebase heritage and is the closest commercial counterpart whose taken-private status after SPAC IPO directly affects the Foundation's ecosystem dynamics.
• Apache Software Foundation: The largest open source software foundation stewarding projects across the data and infrastructure stack. Comparable to MariaDB Foundation as a non-profit stewardship model, governance structure, and dependency on corporate sponsorship and individual contributors.
• Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF): Linux Foundation sub-project that hosts cloud-native infrastructure including databases like TiKV and Vitess. Comparable as a sibling open source foundation with similar corporate sponsorship tiers and governance, competing for the same set of hyperscaler sponsorships MariaDB Foundation relies on.
• Eclipse Foundation: Open source foundation hosting enterprise tooling and language projects (Jakarta EE, Adoptium). Comparable governance model with corporate membership tiers that overlap with MariaDB Foundation's sponsor base, including IBM and other enterprise software vendors.

Emerging players

• PingCAP (TiDB): Open source NewSQL database (TiDB) with MySQL compatibility. Comparable as an open source distributed SQL project targeting MySQL-compatible workloads, representing a more modern architectural alternative that could pull developer mindshare from MariaDB's HA clustering positioning.
• Cockroach Labs: Commercial entity behind CockroachDB, an open source distributed SQL database. Comparable as an open source RDBMS-style project seeking enterprise adoption with a foundation-style governance model and cloud provider distribution strategy parallel to MariaDB's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mariadb_org
• GitHubgithub.com/mariadb
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/MariaDBFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/mariadb.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mariadb-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/mariadb_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MariaDB Foundation