MariaDB raises $25m to scale its SkySQL database

10 Jul 2020

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MariaDB, a start-up that provides technology solutions to Samsung, Red Hat and Nasdaq, has announced a $25m extension to its 2017 Series C round.

MariaDB, an enterprise open-source data platform based between California and Helsinki, has raised $25m in an extension of its Series C round. The latest batch of funding brings the total raised by MariaDB to $125m.

The funding round was led by SmartFin Capital, with participation from existing investors and new investor GP Bullhound. The start-up initially raised $27m for its Series C, before this extension, in a round led by Alibaba Group in 2017.

Other investors in the start-up include Intel Capital, the European Investment Bank, ServiceNow and OnCorps.

Founded in 2014, MariaDB’s solution relies on pluggable, purpose-built storage engines that help companies support workloads that previously required a variety of specialised databases. The start-up’s technology has been adopted by the likes of Samsung, DBS Bank, Nasdaq, Red Hat, ServiceNow and Verizon.

Funding plans

TechCrunch recently noted that there has been a trend in recent months toward more extensions to existing rounds, which is partly due to the fact that extensions can be faster to close than completely new rounds of funding.

With the $25m it has just raised, MariaDB is accelerating the expansion of its SkySQL cloud operations. SkySQL is the start-up’s database-as-a-service (DBaaS) platform, which supports modern applications with fast transactions and real-time analytics.

SkySQL is built on a cloud-agnostic foundation with full customisation capabilities to enable customers to pursue a cloud strategy that meets their specific needs.

The start-up’s CEO Michael Howard said: “There is an addressable and immediate market need with a growing number of companies who want to enable faster innovation and agility by adopting cloud technologies and shifting database management to DBaaS solutions.”

Howard said that the extension to the firm’s Series C round provides MariaDB with an “immediate infusion” to scale SkySQL faster. According to the start-up, more than 75pc of the Fortune 500 uses its technology platform.

Jürgen Ingels, founding partner at SmartFin Capital said that MariaDB “continues to exceed” the venture capital firm’s expectations.

Ingels added: “The company’s innovation in cloud database technology will help support the rapid growth in IT modernisation that businesses large and small are pursuing to keep up with the world around us. We feel MariaDB is well-positioned to take a large share of the growing cloud database market as companies continue to push forward into the cloud.”

Kelly Earley was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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