MySQL AB

MySQL AB. It was a Swedish software company founded in 1995, best known for developing the MySQL open-source relational database management system. The company played a pivotal role in the LAMP stack and the broader open-source software movement, providing a critical data layer for early web applications. Its dual-licensing business model, offering both a GPL version and proprietary licenses, became highly influential. The company was ultimately acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2008 for approximately one billion USD.

History

The company was founded in 1995 in Uppsala, Sweden, by developers Michael Widenius (Monty), David Axmark, and Allan Larsson. Its creation was based on the MySQL database software, which itself originated from Widenius's earlier work on UNIREG and a custom SQL layer called mSQL. Initial development was supported by the Swedish consulting firm TcX DataKonsult AB. To fuel growth and global expansion, the company secured significant venture capital funding in the early 2000s from firms like Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, and Intel Capital. This period saw the headquarters relocate to Cupertino, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, to be closer to major technology partners and the burgeoning dot-com bubble market. Its trajectory was dramatically altered when it was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2008, a move that preceded Sun's own acquisition by Oracle Corporation the following year.

Products and services

The core product was the MySQL database server, available in multiple editions. The primary offering was the MySQL Community Edition, released under the GNU GPL. For commercial customers requiring proprietary licensing, the company offered MySQL Enterprise Edition, which included additional tools, monitoring services via the MySQL Enterprise Monitor, and premium support. Other significant software included the MySQL Cluster technology for high availability, the MySQL Workbench graphical design tool, and various connectors for languages like PHP, Java, and Python. The company also provided extensive documentation, technical support, and consulting services, which formed the backbone of its revenue alongside its commercial licenses.

Corporate structure and acquisitions

The company maintained a distributed workforce with developers across Europe and the United States. Key leadership included co-founders Michael Widenius as Chief Technology Officer and Mårten Mickos who served as CEO from 2001 to 2008. To expand its technology portfolio, it executed several strategic acquisitions. These included purchasing the InnoDB storage engine from Innobase Oy in 2005, a critical transaction-safe backend for MySQL, and later acquiring the Falcon storage engine technology from Netfrastructure, founded by Jim Starkey. The most significant corporate change occurred in 2008 when the entire company was bought by Sun Microsystems for one billion dollars, effectively ending its existence as an independent entity.

Impact and legacy

The company's work fundamentally enabled the Web 2.0 era, as MySQL became the default database for countless internet startups, powering major sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, Google (for non-core services), and YouTube. Its success demonstrated the commercial viability of open-source software through the dual-licensing model, influencing companies like MongoDB and EnterpriseDB. The software became an indispensable component of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack, which dominated early web development. Following the acquisition by Oracle Corporation, the creation of community forks like MariaDB (led by Michael Widenius) and Percona Server ensured the continued independent development of the MySQL codebase, cementing its lasting legacy in the open-source ecosystem.

Legal and licensing issues

The company's business model was built on a nuanced approach to free software licensing. It released MySQL under the GPL, requiring derivative works to be open-sourced, while simultaneously selling proprietary licenses to companies wishing to embed the software in closed-source products. This strategy occasionally led to tensions within the open-source community. A major legal milestone was the 2002 settlement of a lawsuit with Progress Software concerning the NuSphere distribution, which affirmed the enforceability of the GPL. The acquisition by Oracle Corporation raised significant concerns about the future open-source status of MySQL, prompting regulatory scrutiny from the European Commission and leading to commitments from Oracle to maintain its availability.

Category:Software companies of Sweden Category:Database software companies Category:Companies established in 1995 Category:Companies disestablished in 2008