Apple Acquires Database Company FoundationDB

According to TechCrunch, Apple has acquired a database company that could possibly assist with server-side technologies and distribution for iTunes and the App Store:

Apple has acquired FoundationDB, a company that specializes in speedy, durable NoSQL databases, TechCrunch has learned.

A notice on the FoundationDB site notes that it’s no longer offering downloads of its database software. Financial terms of the deal were not available. CEO David Rosenthal was previously VP of Engineering at Omniture and co-founded the company with COO Nick Lavezzo and Dave Scherer in 2009.

The iPhone maker responded to the acquisition rumour with the following boilerplate statement: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

FoundationDB’s mission statement is as follows:

FoundationDB’s mission is to provide data storage technology that frees engineers and companies to focus on problems other than building their data stack. To that end, FoundationDB is creating a new generation of database technology that combines the advantages of modern NoSQL databases with the power and reliability of ACID transactions.

FoundationDB’s venture capital funding includes two rounds from CrunchFund, which the founder of TechCrunch, Michael Arrington, is a partner of. With this in mind, most likely the deal is real and has gone through.