BSD-3→SSPL license change. Linux Foundation backed, with AWS/Google support. Official 2025 materials report up to 40% more throughput in Valkey 9.0 vs 8.1, and about 10% for 8.1 vs 8.0 pipeline workloads.
Valkey is a high-performance key-value data store that serves as a drop-in replacement for Redis. It supports the same data structures, commands, and protocols. Its key technical innovations include a redesigned I/O threading model that enables true concurrency between main and I/O threads, delivering massive throughput improvements over the original Redis architecture.
When Redis CEO Rowan Trollope announced in March 2024 that Redis would abandon its BSD license for SSPL/RSALv2, he framed it as necessary to prevent cloud providers from "commoditizing Redis's investments." What he got instead was the fastest and most consequential open-source fork in recent memory.
Within a week of the announcement, the Linux Foundation launched Valkey with backing from AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, Ericsson, and Snap. This wasn't a ragtag community effort — it was a coordinated response by the exact cloud providers Redis was trying to squeeze. The founding team included six engineers from six companies, with Madelyn Olson from Amazon and Ping Xie from Google Cloud serving as co-maintainers.
Valkey forked from Redis 7.2.4 (the last BSD-licensed version) and immediately set an aggressive development pace. Valkey 8.0 delivered a complete overhaul of the I/O threading system, enabling concurrent operation between main and I/O threads. The result: up to 1.2 million queries per second on AWS r7g instances, compared to Redis's previous 380K QPS. By the time Valkey 9.0 shipped, throughput had improved another 40%, with a cluster capable of handling over 1 billion requests per second.
AWS made Valkey the default for new ElastiCache and MemoryDB instances in 2024, essentially redirecting its massive customer base away from Redis. Google Cloud and Oracle followed suit. Within a year, Redis had lost the majority of its external contributors.
The irony was complete in May 2025 when Redis itself switched to AGPLv3 with Redis 8 — effectively admitting the SSPL gambit had backfired. But by then, Valkey had nearly 20,000 GitHub stars, 50 contributing companies, and a performance lead that Redis would struggle to close. The horse had not only left the barn; it had won the Kentucky Derby.
Redis announces switch from BSD-3 to SSPL/RSALv2 dual license
Linux Foundation announces Valkey with backing from AWS, Google, Oracle, Ericsson, Snap
AWS makes Valkey the default for new ElastiCache and MemoryDB instances
Valkey 8.0 released with revamped I/O threading and major performance gains
One-year anniversary; Redis has lost most external contributors
Redis switches to AGPLv3 with Redis 8, tacitly admitting SSPL backfired
Valkey 9.0 released — 40% throughput improvement, 1B+ requests/sec in clusters
“The majority of Redis's commercial sales are channeled through the largest cloud service providers, who commoditize Redis's investments.”
Valkey is arguably the most successful open-source fork of the 2020s. It didn't just replicate Redis — it surpassed it technically while capturing the institutional backing of every major cloud provider. The project proved that when cloud giants unite behind a fork, the original project faces an existential threat.
Redis's subsequent retreat to AGPLv3 is a direct consequence of Valkey's success and may serve as a permanent deterrent to other companies considering similar license switches. The message is clear: if you change your license to squeeze cloud providers, they will fork your project, outspend you, and outship you.