Apple Acquires Database Company FoundationDB

Apple has reportedly acquired FoundationDB, a company specializing in NoSQL databases, reports TechCrunch.

A notice on the site indicates that downloads of its database are no longer being offered.

"Thank you for your support of FoundationDB over the last five years. We’re grateful to have shared our vision of building the best database software and we strongly value your participation in this community. We have made the decision to evolve our company mission and, as of today, we will no longer offer downloads. If you have any technical questions, please email info@foundationdb.com."


FoundationDB touts itself as a rock-solid, high performance database that provides NoSQL and SQL access. Here's a bit of history on the company's growth from Ben Collins, a Senior Engineer at the company.

-----
Just four years ago, we were a 5-person engineering team that worked from our CEO Dave’s living room. Looking back, things were simple then! I lived on the same street and had a simple commute of walking down seven houses. Communication with everyone was simple, we just swiveled around our chairs and started talking! Priorities were simpler too -- no customers, no releases to support, no outside investors. We were just as focused as we are now, but had fewer objectives. It’s strange to think back to when I was part of such a singly focused company to the diverse and talented team we have now!

We’re currently 40+ employees and have plans for much more growth this year. The first spurt of growth came when we purchased Akiban in July 2013. This was a huge milestone for us because it meant the addition of an office in Boston and four new team members (growing the engineering team by 50 percent!). From a technology standpoint, it was an imperative move in order to bring to life our ambitious strategy of building powerful layers on top of the Key Value Store. Plus it brought us that much closer to having a SQL interface to our powerful technology.

Not too long after that, we announced the launch of FoundationDB 1.0. After several years of hard engineering work, the team’s efforts were met with a lot of praise but also a lot of skepticism. We were told over and over that what we had built wasn’t possible. We continue to try to sway that skepticism today. Then in late 2013, we raised our first venture round from Sutter Hill, which was a huge win for the company and brought us even more validation that we were on the right path.


The move into the new office here in Virginia shows progression and proves that we're maturing - from just an idea, to a project, to a fun startup to an actual business. We’ve grown from working on just ONE project to building a plethora of solutions for our customers. But even with all the change and expansion, one thing has remained -- our vision -- to build the best database software and to get it solving customer’s problems. I’m very proud to be a part of that vision and to have experienced all the transition in the last five years. It’s been a wild ride and I am so excited to see where it continues to lead us.
-----

It's unclear how much Apple paid for the company but there are a myriad of areas that a high performance database could be utilized. For example, iCloud, the iTunes Store and App Store, the Apple TV, and elsewhere.

When asked to comment, Apple gave its typical reply. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.

Read More [via TechCrunch]