acquisitions4 articles
AWS Snaps Up DuckLabs as DuckDB Moves Into the Cloud Giant's Orbit
AWS has acquired DuckLabs, the company behind the popular open-source in-process OLAP database DuckDB, though financial terms were not disclosed. DuckDB and its related projects will remain free and open source under their MIT licenses, with the independent DuckDB Foundation continuing to oversee the project's direction. The DuckLabs team will remain based in Amsterdam, and the Foundation's governance role is expected to expand to give the broader community more influence over the project's development.
Bank of America Snaps Up UK Cybersecurity Consultancy MDSec
Bank of America has announced plans to acquire UK-based cybersecurity firm MDSec Consulting Limited, which employs around 65 security professionals in Macclesfield, England. The deal will strengthen Bank of America's cybersecurity capabilities and expand its footprint in northern England, where it already has over 1,400 employees and a cyber threat operations centre in Chester. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval, with financial terms undisclosed.
SpaceX Drops $60 Billion on Cursor to Close the Coding AI Gap
SpaceX has acquired Anysphere, the company behind AI coding assistant Cursor, for $60 billion in a stock deal, just days after SpaceX's Nasdaq IPO. The acquisition is driven by xAI's need to close the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic in AI-assisted coding, while also addressing a significant talent shortage within the division. Cursor gains access to SpaceX's large chip stockpile, and the two companies are already jointly developing a new AI model.
Anthropic Buys Stainless: SDK Infrastructure as the New AI Moat
Anthropic is acquiring Stainless, an SDK and developer tooling company, for reportedly over $300 million, as part of its broader strategy to control more of the AI technical stack. The deal is notable because Stainless currently generates SDKs used by Anthropic's rivals, including OpenAI and Google, and the platform is set to shut down on September 1, 2026, forcing those competitors to find alternatives. Analysts view the move as both offensive — giving Anthropic insight into competitor API development and dominance over integration tooling — and defensive, preventing rivals from gaining the same advantage.