Andy Pavlo joins ClickHouse to lead new ClickHouse Labs
Original: Andy Pavlo joins ClickHouse to establish ClickHouse Labs
Why This Matters
Hiring a leading academic database researcher signals ClickHouse's push into foundational DBMS research and long-term innovation.
Carnegie Mellon University professor Andy Pavlo has joined ClickHouse to establish and lead ClickHouse Labs, a new industry research organization focused on database technology, announced August 3, 2026.
Andy Pavlo, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University since 2013, has officially joined ClickHouse to found and lead ClickHouse Labs, a new research division dedicated to advancing database management system (DBMS) technology. Pavlo announced the move on August 3, 2026, via the ClickHouse blog.
Pavlo has followed ClickHouse since its open-source debut in June 2016, noting that its capabilities — including C++ implementation and SIMD-based vectorized query execution — were unusually advanced for an open-source analytical DBMS at the time. He stated his initial reaction was skepticism, as the feature set resembled closed-source commercial systems rather than open-source alternatives, most of which were JVM-based and lacked SIMD support for years after.
The goal of ClickHouse Labs, according to Pavlo, is to build a best-in-class industry research organization focused on databases. He was invited by ClickHouse co-founders to lead the group, describing the collaboration as an opportunity to work with 'one of the strongest engineering teams on the next generation of database technology.'