A group of companies and developers from the MySQL ecosystem has established the OurSQL Foundation. The new organization aims to better align the future of the open-source database with the community while also collaborating more closely with Oracle, the owner of MySQL.
The initiators argue that MySQL users and developers need greater transparency regarding the platform’s development. According to them, there is currently too little insight into the technical roadmap and the decisions Oracle makes regarding new features and releases. The foundation is intended to serve as a central point of contact for feedback, knowledge sharing, and collaboration within the broader MySQL ecosystem.
Concerns about MySQL’s position
The initiative was prompted by concerns about MySQL’s declining popularity relative to alternatives such as PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL has been gaining ground in recent years, particularly among developers and cloud-native projects. The foundation’s founders fear that without stronger community involvement, MySQL could lose further market share.
The Register reports that the initiators invited Oracle to participate earlier this year in plans for an independent foundation centered on MySQL. They emphasize that the initiative is not intended as opposition to Oracle, but rather as an effort to improve collaboration between the vendor and the community.
According to Percona co-founder Peter Zaitsev, there are signs that Oracle has recently become more open to external developers and partners. Several members of the foundation are reportedly already actively collaborating with Oracle on code contributions and technical discussions.
The foundation aims to play a neutral role within the ecosystem and bring together parties that use, support, or further develop MySQL. This includes not only developers but also cloud providers, consultants, and database solution vendors.
Organizations involved include Percona, PlanetScale, PingCAP, VillageSQL, and Alibaba. Independent MySQL specialists also serve on the foundation’s board.
Oracle acquired MySQL in 2009 as part of its acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Since then, there has been regular discussion within the open-source community about the extent to which the database is still managed in accordance with open development principles. Critics point out that much of the development takes place behind closed doors and is only made public later.
Oracle Wants to Improve Relationship with Community
Oracle announced earlier this year that MySQL remains a key part of its data strategy. In doing so, the company promised new capabilities, including vector search—a feature relevant to AI applications and semantic search technology.
With the establishment of the OurSQL Foundation, the parties hope that MySQL will regain visibility as an open-source project with an active community. At the same time, they aim to prevent the platform from losing further ground to competing databases that employ a more open development model.