Backed by new funding, real-time analytics database vendor Crate.io has its headquarters now back in Europe to meet data sovereignty demand. It is partnering with STACKIT, the cloud provider of Schwarz Digits, to offer a fully European stack from database to cloud infrastructure
Dornbirn/Vaduz – October 15, 2026. CrateDB is now owned and governed in Europe. Crate.io AG, a newly established holding company in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, now owns the company and technology behind the open-source real-time analytics database.
At the same time, Crate.io announced a partnership with European cloud provider STACKIT: Users can now deploy a fully managed CrateDB cluster on STACKIT’s European infrastructure directly from CrateDB Cloud.
Crate.io was founded in Dornbirn, Austria, moved its headquarters to the United States in 2016, and is now returning to Europe. It is the main developer behind CrateDB, a distributed database that serves live operational data to many concurrent applications, combining time-series data, text, and vectors in a single SQL query. Customers, especially in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), use it to act on live data from production lines, fleets, and grids and to power AI applications where real-time is key.
Robert Ekstrom, CEO of Crate.io, said: “For critical infrastructure operators, regulated industries, the public sector, and any company that wants full control over its data, sovereignty now decides purchasing. Features and price are no longer enough. Who owns the technology, and under which law, weighs just as much. With this strategic step, CrateDB becomes a European database for real-time analytics. Our customers can build applications that are fully under their control. They own the operational core of those applications under European law. European hosting alone does not give them that.”
As part of the transition, investors in Crate.io AG are providing funding to accelerate the company’s expansion in the European market, underscoring their confidence in the strategy.
CrateDB on STACKIT
With STACKIT, customers get a fully European path to real-time analytics in the cloud: a European database vendor running on infrastructure hosted exclusively in European data centers. STACKIT is part of Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group. Sebastian Utz, Founding Engineer and CTO of Crate.io, said: “CrateDB is open source and can be deployed anywhere, so users have always controlled where it runs. STACKIT now adds a European-native option in the cloud. Customers no longer have to trade real-time performance for data sovereignty.”
Robin Hermann, Chief Technical Officer STACKIT, Schwarz Digits, said: “True digital sovereignty leaves no room for compromise on the underlying technology. STACKIT provides the secure, European foundation that enables forward-looking data architectures to thrive. With CrateDB returning to Europe and committing fully to open source, they are the logical strategic partner for us. Together, we empower our customers with maximum technological autonomy and complete independence from non-European providers.”
About CrateDB
CrateDB is an open-source, distributed SQL database purpose-built for real-time analytics, IoT, AI/ML, and high-concurrency workloads. Founded in Dornbirn, Austria, and headquartered in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, CrateDB is used by organizations worldwide across manufacturing, energy, logistics, and critical infrastructure. Customers include leading companies in their fields, such as global technology company ABB, beverage company Rauch, and video streaming technology company Bitmovin. More information: cratedb.com
About Schwarz Digits
Schwarz Digits is the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group and offers impressive digital products and services that meet the high German data protection standards. With the aim of achieving the greatest possible digital sovereignty, Schwarz Digits provides the IT infrastructure and solutions for the extensive ecosystem of Schwarz Group's companies and develops it for the future. Schwarz Digits' sovereign core services include Cloud, Cyber Security, Data and AI, Communication and Workspace. In addition, Schwarz Digits creates optimal conditions for the development of trend-setting innovations for end customers, companies and public sector organizations.
Download
Press release in English and German with high-resolution images (.zip/16.1 MB)