Databricks

Databricks is an American software company founded by the creators of Apache Spark. Databricks develops a web-based platform for working with Spark that provides automated cluster management and IPython-style notebooks. Key executives include CEO Ali Ghodsi and Executive Chair Ion Stoica. Competitors include cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Azure and Google Cloud, as well as other data and analytics companies like Snowflake and Cloudera.

Recent Articles about Databricks

Ali Ghodsi. Photo via YouTube.

Databricks CEO On What It Takes to Turn LLMs Into a Big Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 14, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to say about OpenAI and the potential challenges it faces in a conference call with The Information subscribers yesterday. (One new challenge it's likely wrestling with is the departure of high-profile researcher Andrej Karpathy, as we scooped... Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi

Q&A

Databricks CEO Predicts Major Drop in AI Chip Prices

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 13, 2024 4:37pm PST · 10 comments

Nvidia’s stock has been on a tear as major technology firms and app developers clamor for the company’s server chips for artificial intelligence, creating a shortage. But over the next year, prices for these chips, known as graphics processing units, will plummet, throwing a wrench into the business models of numerous major companies... Nvidia’s stock has been on a tear as major technology firms and app developers clamor for...

Photo via Shutterstock

Databricks Preps Employee Share Sale

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Jan 17, 2024 1:13pm PST · 2 comments

Databricks, one of the most valuable of the private tech companies, told employees last week it is planning to allow early staffers to cash out some of their shares in the coming months by lining up investors to buy their stock, people familiar with the matter said. In arranging the share sale, Databricks is following in the footsteps of... Databricks, one of the most valuable of the private tech companies, told employees last week it...

Chalk's cofounders Elliot Marx, Andrew Moreland and Marc Freed-Finnegan. Photo courtesy of Chalk.

What Separates the AI Winners and Losers; The General Catalyst-Backed Startup Taking On Databricks

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 12, 2023 7:05am PST

Chalk's cofounders Elliot Marx, Andrew Moreland and Marc Freed-Finnegan. Photo courtesy of Chalk.

What Separates the AI Winners and Losers; The General Catalyst-Backed Startup Taking On Databricks

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 12, 2023 7:05am PST

This past year has been a blur of nine-figure funding rounds and billion-dollar-plus valuations for artificial intelligence startups that investors hope can be the next OpenAI or Midjourney. I can’t tell you how many times investors have justified the money they’ve put into a brand new startup by saying things like: “Well, he was one of the lead... This past year has been a blur of nine-figure funding rounds and billion-dollar-plus valuations...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference following a Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Why Musk-Altman-Zuckerberg Summit is a Sideshow; Nvidia Adds Databricks to Investment Portfolio

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 14, 2023 7:00am PDT

On Wednesday morning, dozens of U.S. senators and tech executives including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and xAI’s Elon Musk filed into the Kennedy Caucus Room just north of the U.S. Capitol. The chamber has held hearings on the sinking of the Titanic, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Watergate scandal, but this time it was... On Wednesday morning, dozens of U.S. senators and tech executives including OpenAI’s Sam Altman,...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies in Congress in December 2018. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Google Trial Puts LLMs On the Docket; Databricks Projects Explosive AI Spending

By Jon Victor · Sep 12, 2023 7:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence developers are undoubtedly lapping up a couple of stories my colleagues published Monday about Nvidia leveraging its hardware dominance to muscle into cloud services and Databricks projecting big corporate spending on artificial intelligence services. But first, today’s news.The trial over the U.S. Department of Justice’s... Artificial intelligence developers are undoubtedly lapping up a couple of stories my colleagues...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo via YouTube/Databricks.

Inside Databricks’ Contrarian Playbook: Burn $1.5 Billion to Buy Big Growth

By Cory Weinberg · Sep 11, 2023 3:54pm PDT · 5 comments

Much of the startup world has gotten a clear message from investors: Stop bleeding cash. Databricks, one of the software startups trying to benefit most from rabid corporate interest in artificial intelligence, is taking a different tack—and getting rewarded for it. Databricks, on the verge of raising a new round of funding at a $43... Much of the startup world has gotten a clear message from investors: Stop bleeding cash....

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Collage by Clark Miller

Microsoft Plans AI Service With Databricks That Could Hurt OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 17, 2023 2:03pm PDT · 4 comments

From left, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Collage by Clark Miller

Microsoft Plans AI Service With Databricks That Could Hurt OpenAI

By Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin · Aug 17, 2023 2:03pm PDT · 4 comments

Microsoft has hitched its wagon to OpenAI when it comes to selling artificial intelligence that can understand language and write emails, meeting summaries and slide decks. Now Microsoft has found a second horse to ride in the AI race: Databricks, which has positioned itself as a kind of anti-OpenAI. Microsoft plans to start selling a new... Microsoft has hitched its wagon to OpenAI when it comes to selling artificial intelligence that...

Photos courtesy of Llion Jones and David Ha.

A Godfather of Transformers Launches Lab Developing More Adaptable AI Models; Databricks and OpenAI in Dealmaking Mode

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 17, 2023 7:00am PDT

Much to the dismay of antsy bankers and investors, it doesn’t look like Databricks, which has aided the rise of artificial intelligence software in the business world, will be going public anytime soon.Instead, the company, which sells tools for building machine-learning models, has been chatting with investors about potentially raising hundreds... Much to the dismay of antsy bankers and investors, it doesn’t look like Databricks, which has...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo by Bloomberg/Getty.

Databricks, After $380 Million Loss, in Talks to Raise More Cash

By Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Aug 16, 2023 12:59pm PDT · 8 comments

Enterprise software firm Databricks is in early discussions with investors for a new cash infusion, likely totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, as it looks to capitalize on the fervor over artificial intelligence, two people familiar with the matter said. The investment talks come as Databricks has moved closer to break-even, after losing a... Enterprise software firm Databricks is in early discussions with investors for a new cash...

Naveen Rao (left), CEO of MosaicML, and Ali Ghodsi (right), CEO of DataBricks. Photos by Getty.

How Databricks CEO Justifies Paying $1.3 Billion for a Young AI Startup

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 28, 2023 3:31pm PDT · 5 comments

When enterprise software firm Databricks revealed on Monday it would pay $1.3 billion for a two-year-old artificial intelligence startup, MosaicML, the deal looked overpriced. Databricks is paying 65 times Mosaic’s $20 million in annual recurring revenue, a measure of customer commitments to pay for its software, according to Databricks... When enterprise software firm Databricks revealed on Monday it would pay $1.3 billion for a...

From left: Ariel Cohen, CEO and founder of TripActions; Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart; Rene Haas, CEO of ARM. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Instacart, Databricks, Arm Could Lead the IPO Market Out of Its Freeze

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 20, 2022 7:30am PST · 1 comment

From left: Ariel Cohen, CEO and founder of TripActions; Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart; Rene Haas, CEO of ARM. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Instacart, Databricks, Arm Could Lead the IPO Market Out of Its Freeze

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 20, 2022 7:30am PST · 1 comment

The IPO market remains frozen for now. But once it starts to thaw, the companies that will likely jump into the public markets first are those that can show a path to profitability, have reconciled themselves to lower valuations and—perhaps just as important—are simply sick of waiting. Grocery-delivery firm Instacart, data-focused... The IPO market remains frozen for now. But once it starts to thaw, the companies that will likely...

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks. Photo by Bloomberg.

Databricks Is Trimming Its Valuation While Other Startups Are Slashing Theirs

By Maria Heeter and Mark Matousek · Oct 20, 2022 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Valuations for a crop of high-profile startups have been falling fast, even according to their own internal assessments. But one company has been notably restrained in revising its valuation: cloud-based database software startup Databricks. Databricks trimmed its internal share price this month, which lowered its implied valuation to $31... Valuations for a crop of high-profile startups have been falling fast, even according to their...

Databricks Chief People Officer Amy Reichanadter.

Q&A

Databricks Pushes Ahead With Hiring Spree to Add 2,500 Workers This Year

By Mark Matousek · Jun 16, 2022 6:08am PDT · 2 comments

Layoffs and hiring freezes are sweeping across Silicon Valley, but Databricks is still recruiting heavily. The data management company, most recently valued at $38 billion last August, is aiming to end the year with 5,500 employees, up from 3,000 at the start of 2022, Databricks Chief People Officer Amy Reichanadter said in an interview with The... Layoffs and hiring freezes are sweeping across Silicon Valley, but Databricks is still recruiting...

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman (left) and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg. Collage by Mike Sullivan

Snowflake vs. Databricks: How Onetime Friends Became Fierce Cloud Rivals

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 26, 2022 6:00am PST · 2 comments

A few years ago, Snowflake and Databricks were up-and-coming cloud software startups that were so friendly, their sales teams regularly passed customer leads to each other. Both companies made unglamorous but critical components for businesses—from Shell Oil to DoorDash—that helped them boost sales or reduce costs by making better... A few years ago, Snowflake and Databricks were up-and-coming cloud software startups that were so...