MariaDB raises $25m to expand SkySQL cloud database

MariaDB has bagged $25m to help grow its SkySQL database-as-a-service platform. The funding round was led by SmartFin Capital along with existing investors and new investor GP Bullhound.

The new funding is an extension of the company’s series C funding and will enable MariaDB to scale SkySQL more quickly, CEO Michael Howard said today.

“Expanding MariaDB SkySQL cloud operations is our key focus. There is an addressable and immediate market opportunity with businesses actively seeking to grow their cloud presence with MariaDB that supports mission-critical requirements.”

SmartFin Capital founding partner Jürgen Ingels said: “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.”

MariaDB launched SkySQL in March 2020, with the aim of offering full “MariaDB in the cloud” experience to support a new generation of cloud-native modern applications with fast transactions and real-time analytics. MariaDB is a community-developed but commercially supported fork of MySQL.

According to MariaDB, SkySQL implements a modern architecture that is not tied to any cloud platform. It uses Kubernetes as a cloud-agnostic platform for container orchestration, the SkySQL portal is built on ServiceNow for inventory, configuration and workflow management, and it uses Prometheus for real-time monitoring and Grafana for visualisation.

This cloud-native architecture also allows SkySQL to scale more easily than some other cloud databases, according to the firm.

The service is currently available on Google Cloud Platform, with pricing starting at $0.45 per hour. MariaDB will extend support to AWS and Azure in future, but has not specified dates.