MariaDB acquires GridGain to build sub-millisecond infrastructure for AI applications

MariaDB buys in-memory computing pioneer GridGain to accelerate data processing for AI agents - SiliconANGLE

Database management company MariaDB Plc said today it's buying the Apache Ignite creator and in-memory computing technology developer GridGain Systems Inc. to build more robust infrastructure for artificial intelligence agents. The company said the combination of its own technologies and GridGain will result in a single, high-velocity and hybrid cloud platform that's able to handle analytical, transactional and AI workloads. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it will be finalized subject to customary closing conditions, MariaDB said. GridGain is the creator and main developer of the open-source Apache Ignite project that's focused on accelerated in-memory computing. Ignite is used to speed up real-time applications. It's designed to sit atop of standard databases, where it helps to accelerate their read and write performance. It enables sub-millisecond data processing by storing more data for compute tasks -- including AI -- in a computer's memory rather than relying on slower disk drives. MariaDB said this technology will be extremely useful as it looks to expand its agentic AI capabilities. MariaDB Chief Executive Rohit de Souza explained that agentic AI systems that automate work on behalf of humans place different demands on data infrastructure. They need real-time access to massive datasets, and delays cannot be tolerated. But traditional disk-based architectures cannot keep up. By combining its database with GridGain's in-memory data grid, MariaDB can provide a compelling alternative to traditional databases such as Oracle and the fragmented data services offered by cloud infrastructure providers. "The rise of agentic workloads has placed unprecedented demands on enterprise infrastructure, causing requirements to explode and requiring a level of scale and sub-millisecond latency that traditional systems simply weren't built to handle," De Souza said. GridGain Chief Technology Officer Lalit Ahuja agreed that latency has become a real problem for agentic workloads. "The combined technology stack will unlock one of the key enablers for agentic enterprises: high performance and reliable data processing that powers the next generation of AI applications," he said. The acquisition signals that MariaDB is gaining momentum following financial problems that derailed its bid to go public in December 2022. The company ended up being acquired by the private equity firm K1 Investment Management in September 2024, and since that time appears to have gone from strength to strength. In August it acquired its former subsidiary SkySQL, which it originally developed only to spin off as a separate business in 2023. SkySQL offers a cloud-based database-as-a-service that MariaDB said would provide more flexible deployment options for customers. MariaDB followed that acquisition with the launch of MariaDB Enterprise Platform 2026, which features retrieval-augmented generation pipelines for developing agentic applications.

MariaDB To Acquire GridGain In Push To Support High-Performance Computing, AI Applications

MariaDB will incorporate GradGain's in-memory data processing technology within its popular relational database to provide "sub-millisecond data infrastructure" for the AI agentic era, according to the company. Relational database developer MariaDB has struck a deal to acquire in-memory computing tech developer GridGain Systems in a move to boost the performance of data infrastructure for AI agentic computing. MariaDB, in the deal announcement, said the combination of the MariaDB and GridGain technologies will create a "unified, hybrid-cloud platform" that can handle transactional, analytical and AI use cases "in a single, high-velocity system." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and MariaDB did not provide a timetable for completing the acquisition, other than to say the deal is subject to customary closing conditions. [Related: MariaDB Buys Back SkySQL In Database Flexibility Push] "The rise of agentic workloads has placed unprecedented demands on enterprise infrastructure, causing requirements to explode and requiring a level of scale and sub-millisecond latency that traditional systems simply weren't built to handle," said MariaDB CEO Rohit de Souza (pictured) in a statement. The acquisition comes as the wave of AI development and deployment is putting more demands on IT infrastructure, especially legacy databases and other data management tools, because AI applications and agentic systems require huge volumes of low-latency data to function. "By uniting MariaDB's platform with GridGain's in-memory data grid, we are entering a new weight class. This enables us to provide a high-performance, scalable, open alternative to the rigid lock-in of Oracle and the fragmented complexity of hyperscalers," de Souza said. MariaDB said it is particularly targeting the combination of its database with GridGain's technology as an alternative to the "separate, disconnected" data services offered by the cloud hyperscalers. GridGain's "extreme-scale" in-memory technology makes it possible to process massive amounts of data in real-time. It enables sub-millisecond data processing by storing more data for compute tasks -- including AI -- in a computer's memory rather than relying on slower disk drives. GridGain, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., is also the original developer of Apache Ignite, an open-source, distributed, memory-centric database and data caching platform for high-performance computing, according to a description by the Apache Software Foundation. "Enterprises today cannot afford the latency introduced by siloed data architectures," said GridGain CTO Lalit Ahuja in a statement. "The combined [MariaDB and GridGain] technology stack will unlock one of the key enablers for agentic enterprises: high performance and reliable data processing that powers the next generation of AI applications." The GridGain acquisition is the latest chapter in the history of MariaDB, which was founded in 2012 by the original developers of the open-source MySQL database. MariaDB, headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., acquired SkySQL and its cloud-based database-as-a-service last August in a move the company said provided more flexible deployment options for customers. MariaDB originally developed SkySQL but spun it off as a separate business in 2023. That came amid MariaDB's financial problems following a bid to go public in December 2022. MariaDB has been on the rebound after it was acquired in September 2024 by private equity firm K1 Investment Management.