University of Waterloo–based graph database start-up Kùzu has been acquired by tech giant Apple. According to a recent report in BetaKit, Apple reached an agreement in October 2025 to purchase all shares of the company and hire select members of its team.
Kùzu began as a research project led by Professor Semih Salihoğlu, a member of the Data Systems Group at the Cheriton School of Computer Science. The underlying technology was developed as an embeddable graph database management system designed for query speed, scalability and ease of use.
In 2023, the team launched Kùzu to commercialize its embedded graph database technology. Along with Professor Salihoğlu, who served as CEO, the company included several students from Professor Salihoğlu’s research group — Ziyi Chen, Xiyang Feng, Guodong Jin, and Chang Liu as co-founders, and Benjamin Winger, Royi Luo, and Siddhartha Sahu as early engineers.