Tech giant IBM has announced plans to acquire DataStax, a provider of AI and data solutions, to enhance its watsonx portfolio.
The companies did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
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Through this acquisition, IBM aims to support enterprise adoption of generative AI by improving access to unstructured data.
DataStax is known for AstraDB and DataStax Enterprise, which offer NoSQL and vector database capabilities based on Apache Cassandra.
It also develops Langflow, an open-source tool for low-code AI application development.
IBM Software senior vice-president Dinesh Nirmal said: “Businesses cannot realize the full potential of generative AI without the right infrastructure – open-source tools and technologies that empower developers, harness unstructured data, and provide a strong foundation for AI applications.
“DataStax possesses deep competency in this area and shares IBM’s relentless commitment to simplifying and scaling generative AI for the enterprise.”
Following the deal closing, IBM plans to continue supporting the open-source communities around Apache Cassandra, Langflow, Apache Pulsar, and OpenSearch, aligning with its broader commitment to open-source AI.
IBM’s acquisition of DataStax seeks to tackle the challenges of unstructured data by incorporating its vector database capabilities into watsonx.data, IBM’s hybrid data lakehouse for AI and analytics.
AstraDB and DataStax Enterprise provide scalable, high-performance database solutions that are widely used in industries such as software, retail, finance, and e-commerce.
Langflow, a Python-based, low-code platform, will add middleware capabilities to IBM watsonx.ai, supporting AI application development.
Subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, the acquisition is anticipated to conclude in the second quarter of 2025.
In another development, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved IBM’s proposed $6.4bn acquisition of HashiCorp.
HashiCorp develops infrastructure automation tools such as Terraform.
The transaction will close on receipt of approval from the US Federal Trade Commission.
On 30 December 2024, the CMA initiated its merger inquiry by notifying the parties. It assessed whether the transaction qualified as a relevant merger situation under the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether it could significantly reduce competition in any UK market for goods or services.
In January 2025, IBM and e& teamed up on a multi-modal AI governance platform aimed at enhancing compliance and ethical practices.
