Alibaba to acquire German startup data Artisans for $103.3mn

Alibaba is set to acquire German startup data Artisans (dA) for $103.3mn (€90mn).

Through the deal, the companies aim to build up Apache Flink, an open source framework which was created by the Berlin-based startup to process large amounts of data in an efficient yet user-friendly way.

In a blog post commenting on the deal, dA founders Kostas Tzoumas and Stephen Ewen, wrote: “Especially at times when many open source technologies and companies decide on a less collaborative and more “closed” approach, it is with great pleasure to see Alibaba committed to open source and our mission, eager to take Flink’s technological advancement to the next level. 

“Alibaba, as one of the largest production users and biggest contributors to Apache Flink, in close collaboration with the open source community and data Artisans team, has made numerous contributions to the Flink codebase over the last 2 years.”

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dA has raised €6.5 million in funding so far and lists Alibaba, ING, Netflix, and Uber among its clients.

Alibaba has worked closely with the firm since 2016. Through this latest deal, the Chinese e-commerce giant says it wants to encourage the growth of open-source communities around data processing technologies.

It said it also wanted to accelerate stream-processing adoption and develop a supportive environment for global developers.

Jingren Zhou, Vice President at Alibaba Group, added: “By leveraging the technology expertise of both teams and shared passion to develop the open-source community, we are confident that this strategic tie-in will further strengthen the growth of the Flink community, accelerate the data-processing technologies and help bolster an open, collaborative and constructive environment for global developers who are passionate about stream processing and enabling real-time applications for modern enterprises.”