MariaDB announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GridGain Systems, the developer of the in-memory computing platform Apache Ignite. The acquisition is designed to combine MariaDB’s relational database platform with GridGain’s in-memory data grid technology to create infrastructure capable of delivering sub-millisecond data performance for the next generation of AI-driven enterprise applications.
The companies said the combined platform will address growing infrastructure demands from agentic AI systems, which are autonomous AI agents capable of reasoning, planning and executing tasks. These systems require real-time access to massive datasets with minimal latency, something traditional disk-based architectures often struggle to provide.
By integrating MariaDB’s transactional database with GridGain’s in-memory computing capabilities, the companies aim to create a unified platform that can support transactional, analytical and AI workloads simultaneously. MariaDB said the combined stack will enable enterprises to process and analyze data in real time while maintaining durability, reliability and enterprise-grade performance.
The acquisition also positions MariaDB as an open alternative to proprietary database ecosystems and the fragmented architectures offered by many hyperscale cloud providers. MariaDB said the integration will allow organizations to consolidate multiple data services into a single hybrid platform capable of supporting AI applications alongside traditional workloads.
MariaDB is already widely used by global enterprises and developers, offering a migration path from Oracle MySQL and other legacy database systems. Following the acquisition, the company will continue supporting major customers across financial services, telecommunications, technology and logistics sectors that rely on high-performance data infrastructure.
The companies said the combined technology platform will help enterprises support demanding real-time workloads for large-scale applications and AI systems while simplifying data architectures that are often distributed across multiple platforms.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
KEY QUOTES
“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. 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.”
Rohit de Souza, CEO of MariaDB plc
“Enterprises today cannot afford the latency introduced by siloed data architectures. With MariaDB and GridGain, enterprise customers will get a unified platform that provides them the best of both worlds, performance and scale without having to give up on durability. 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.”
Lalit Ahuja, CTO of GridGain Systems, Inc.
