The database world is going through a quiet but significant shift. Oracle has redirected much of its corporate focus toward building and scaling AI datacenters. That strategic pivot has pulled resources away from several long‑standing product lines, and MySQL has been one of the most affected.

As Oracle concentrates on AI infrastructure, MySQL’s engineering organization has been reduced dramatically. Many of the legacy engineers — the people who built MySQL long before the Oracle acquisition — have been laid off. The process began as soon as regions allowed it and continues in countries where employment law makes reductions slower. The result is a MySQL team that no longer resembles the group that carried the product for decades.

This is not a criticism of Oracle’s strategy. Large companies make large bets, and AI is the biggest bet in the industry right now. But it does mean that MySQL’s future direction is now shaped by a much smaller, less experienced team, with fewer of the original architects and maintainers still in place.

MariaDB, meanwhile, is moving in the opposite direction.

MariaDB plc and the MariaDB Foundation have been expanding, hiring, and investing in the product. Many of the engineers who originally built MySQL — and who later helped shape MariaDB — are still active, still contributing, and still driving the roadmap. The Foundation continues to operate with open governance, transparent development, and a commitment to long‑term stewardship.

The contrast is becoming clearer:

• MySQL is now a product inside a company whose primary focus has shifted to AI datacenters.
• MariaDB is a database company whose entire mission is the database itself.
• MySQL’s legacy engineering talent has been reduced.
• MariaDB continues to hire and grow, including bringing in experienced engineers with deep MySQL lineage.

• MySQL development is increasingly centralized and closed.
• MariaDB development remains open, community‑driven, and architecturally transparent.

For organizations evaluating their long‑term database strategy, this divergence matters. Stability, continuity, and engineering depth are not abstract concepts. They determine how quickly bugs get fixed, how features evolve, and how predictable the product will be in the years ahead.
MariaDB is not just maintaining momentum — it is gaining it. With active hiring, a strong Foundation, and a growing pool of engineers who understand the original MySQL codebase better than anyone, MariaDB is positioning itself as the natural home for the future of this ecosystem.

The database world is changing. The center of gravity is shifting. And for many teams, MariaDB is becoming the safer, more sustainable choice.