EMQX Adopts Business Source License to Accelerate MQTT + AI Innovation
MENLO PARK, CA – May 7, 2025 – EMQ, the global leader in MQTT-based messaging and real-time data infrastructure, today announced a strategic shift in how its flagship product, EMQX, is developed and delivered. With the release of version 5.9. EMQX will consolidate its community and enterprise editions into a single unified platform, now licensed under the Business Source License (BSL) 1.1.
This move reflects EMQ’s long-term vision to expand the impact of MQTT and AI technologies while creating a more sustainable path for open innovation.
What is the BSL, and Why Make This Change?
The Business Source License (BSL) is a source-available license that allows free access to the code, including copying, modification, and redistribution. It places limited restrictions on commercial production use or offering competing services. After a predefined period — in our case, four years — each version of EMQX automatically reverts to the Apache 2.0 each version license, restoring full open source rights. This licensing model offers a practical balance between open-source transparency and the commercial sustainability required to fund long-term development, especially in today’s cloud and AI-driven environment.
A Word from the CEO
"Consolidating our offerings into a unified EMQX Platform under the BSL is a pivotal decision — one that aligns with our mission and our continued support for both the open-source community and the enterprise customers we've served for over a decade," said Feng Lee, Co-founder and CEO of EMQ. “When we launched EMQX under Apache 2.0 in 2013, we prioritized openness and collaboration. This next chapter allows us to maintain those values while accelerating our investment in MQTT and AI.”
What This Means for the Ecosystem
The adoption of BSL 1.1 unlocks key benefits for all users of the EMQX Platform:
For the community
Open access is preserved. Community users now gain full access to features that were previously exclusive to EMQX Enterprise. Through our BSL Additional Use Grant, EMQX remains free for non-production environments, testing, and single-node production deployments. Educational institutes and non-profits can also request a free license key to support broader usage.
For customers
By streamlining development into a unified platform, EMQX customers can expect faster release cycles, improved feature velocity, and enhanced support. This allows mission-critical applications — from electric vehicles to industrial systems — to evolve more rapidly and reliably.
For EMQ
Focusing engineering efforts on a single, BSL-licensed codebase improves efficiency and speeds delivery. It also allows EMQ to invest more deeply in evolving the MQTT standard and scaling AI-powered solutions across industries.
Shaping the Future of MQTT + AI
The unified EMQX Platform under BSL 1.1 is more than a licensing update — it’s a foundation for the future. As the boundaries between physical systems and artificial intelligence continue to blur, EMQ remains committed to delivering the tools needed to power real-time, intelligent applications at scale.
To learn more about the transition to BSL and what it means for you, please visit blog post/FAQ page.
About EMQ:
EMQ is a pioneer in MQTT and AI technologies, offering EMQX — the world’s most scalable and distributed MQTT messaging platform for IoT, AI, and connected vehicles. Founded in 2017, EMQ connects over 250 million IoT devices and 20 million electric vehicles globally. The company supports over 1,000 enterprise clients, including leaders like GEELY, HPE, Verifone, SAIC Volkswagen, Lucid, and Ericsson. Headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with R&D in Stockholm and 10+ offices worldwide, EMQ's mission is to connect the physical world to artificial intelligence.