Hadoop distributor MapR gets $110M from Google

MapR, which distributes a commercial software platform based off the Apache Hadoop big data management open source project, has secured a $110 million funding round led by Google.

The announcement is just the latest in a string of money being pumped into Hadoop companies, with MapR competitors Hortonworks and Cloudera each netting lofty sums this year.

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MapR’s commercial package lets customers run Apache Hadoop on premises. That’s different from the approach taken by Google and Amazon, which offer hosted Hadoop solutions. MapR’s distro is one of the most respected in the industry, according to a recent report that compared the top nine Hadoop companies by research firm Forrester. MapR landed at the top of the market in terms of the company’s data architecture and processing capabilities.

Google led the funding round for MapR by contributing $80 million, while Qualcomm Ventures, and existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund, NEA and Redpoint Ventures also participated. The company plans to use the influx of cash to expand its international go-to-market efforts and continue to develop its offering. The company says it already has an install base of 500 paying licensees.

The big money blitz comes on the heels of even larger funding announcements for other big data vendors. In March, Cloudera announced a it’s funding now totals $900 million with its newest funding made by Intel, T. Rowe Price, Google Ventures, and an affiliate of MSD Capital, Michael Dell’s funding account. Hortonworks announced a $100 million funding round, led by Blackrock and PassPort Capital that month as well.