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

Lowe's Senior Vice President Chandhu Nair. Photo courtesy of Lowe's

Lowe’s Says ‘Semantic’ Data is Boosting Its AI Agents

By Kevin McLaughlin · May 28, 2026 1:09pm PDT

Microsoft, Databricks, SAP and other AI software providers are fighting over control and access to enterprise data known as the semantic layer, as we reported last week. Semantic layers are essentially a data management tool that companies use to standardize definitions for their business metrics, such as revenue and customers, and are now... Microsoft, Databricks, SAP and other AI software providers are fighting over control and access...

Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic. Getty Images.

When Will We See a $100 Billion-Valuation Startup Go Public?

By Katie Roof · Dec 4, 2025 3:28pm PST

For years, there has been speculation about when $100 billion-plus private tech companies like Stripe, SpaceX and Databricks could go public. Now AI darlings OpenAI and Anthropic are on IPO watch. Like every company that takes on significant venture capital, both companies have had early conversations with financial institutions about the... For years, there has been speculation about when $100 billion-plus private tech companies like...

Photo by Getty Images

Series Bubb-L

By Katie Roof and Cory Weinberg · Nov 18, 2025 3:01pm PST

Sometimes being a centicorn isn’t enough…especially when you’re worried the AI bubble could burst. Shortly after Databricks said in September it had raised more than $1 billion at a valuation of more than $100 billion, leaders at the database software provider told investors they were likely to raise even more soon, our sources tell us.As ... Sometimes being a centicorn isn’t enough…especially when you’re worried the AI bubble could...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo via AP

Pro Weekly: AI M&A Heats Up

By Akash Pasricha · May 16, 2025 8:00am PDT

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi. Photo via AP

Pro Weekly: AI M&A Heats Up

By Akash Pasricha · May 16, 2025 8:00am PDT

One of the most exciting stories in tech lately is just four letters long: AI M&A. On Wednesday, Databricks said it was paying around $1 billion to buy Neon, a database software startup that can be used to develop AI agents. Then, on Thursday, Salesforce said it was buying AI agent developer Convergence. And OpenAI has reportedly been... One of the most exciting stories in tech lately is just four letters long: AI M&A. On...

ClickHouse CEO Aaron Katz. Image via YouTube. Art by Clark Miller.

Snowflake Challenger ClickHouse Targets $6 Billion Valuation

By Sri Muppidi · May 9, 2025 1:12pm PDT · 3 comments

Investors have reaped billions of dollars in gains from backing database software firms Snowflake and Databricks. Now venture capitalists are circling ClickHouse, a startup some investors believe could rival the incumbents, particularly as the rise of artificial intelligence increases demand for its database software. The startup is in... Investors have reaped billions of dollars in gains from backing database software firms Snowflake...

Partner Content

Financing the AI Revolution Recap: AI and the IPO Market

By The Information Partnerships · May 5, 2025 2:12pm PDT

After a yearslong slump in the initial public offering market, 2025 was poised to be the year exits made a comeback, with many big companies in tech and artificial intelligence—including Databricks, Chime, StubHub and Klarna—primed to hit the exchange and deliver a long-anticipated return on investment. All of that was before Trump’s on-again,... After a yearslong slump in the initial public offering market, 2025 was poised to be the year...

Art by Clark Miller

Where Is Venture Capital Going in 2025?

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 26, 2024 2:00pm PST

Dealmakers, it’s been a history-making year. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion, the largest venture capital fundraise in history—only to have Databricks beat that record with its $10 billion haul in December. Then there were the acqui-hires, topped by Google paying $2.7 billion for the talent and technology behind Character AI.But the year wasn’t... Dealmakers, it’s been a history-making year. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion, the largest venture...

Photo via AP

Snowflake Looks to an AI Deal to Jump-Start Growth

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 8, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Photo via AP

Snowflake Looks to an AI Deal to Jump-Start Growth

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 8, 2024 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Snowflake had been riding high before the artificial intelligence boom. But questions about the usefulness of its data management products for AI developers—a growing source of revenue for rivals like Databricks—and a broader pullback in business software spending have sent its stock plummeting 42% so far this year. Now, in an effort... Snowflake had been riding high before the artificial intelligence boom. But questions about the...

Eric Lefkofsky, founder and CEO of Tempus AI. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Pro Weekly: The IPO Pipeline Grows

By Akash Pasricha · May 31, 2024 8:00am PDT

There’s still no sign of marquee private companies such as Stripe or Databricks listing shares on the stock market anytime soon. But slowly, the pipeline of initial public offering candidates is growing after a quiet few years, according to The Information’s Tech IPO Tracker. Our data suggests that 19 companies are likely to go public... There’s still no sign of marquee private companies such as Stripe or Databricks listing shares on...

Left to right: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks; and OpenAI director Adam D'Angelo; Photos via Getty

OpenAI Board’s Search for New Directors Includes a Rival

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jan 16, 2024 2:22pm PST · 5 comments

Last month, OpenAI board director Adam D’Angelo called Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to see if he might consider joining OpenAI’s board, according to a person familiar with the situation. That kind of request might not seem unusual—except that Ghodsi has positioned Databricks as a kind of anti-OpenAI through its business of helping... Last month, OpenAI board director Adam D’Angelo called Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to see if...

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

Without IPOs, Some Startup Workers Pay Steep Price to Get Cash

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 11, 2023 6:00am PDT · 3 comments

Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old startup are considering going to extraordinary lengths to turn their private stakes into $30 million in cash. Investors say they have discussed a deal that would lend the employees money in exchange for a share in the proceeds of their stock if the... Some Databricks employees and executives sitting on valuable stock options in the decade-old...

What We Learned From The Information’s 50 Most Promising Startups

By Amir Efrati · Oct 25, 2022 6:50am PDT · 15 comments

The Information 50

What We Learned From The Information’s 50 Most Promising Startups

By Amir Efrati · Oct 25, 2022 6:50am PDT · 15 comments

After splurging in 2020 and 2021, investors this year turned less generous toward startups. But that didn’t slow the pipeline of promising companies that could become the next ByteDance, Stripe or Databricks. The third edition of The Information’s 50 most promising startups looked for the next big winners in artificial intelligence... After splurging in 2020 and 2021, investors this year turned less generous toward startups. But...

Not Just Tiger: Coatue, Greenoaks Reduce Late-Stage Deals

By Mahira Dayal · Jun 24, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last year, Tiger Global Management led a rush to back startups nearing initial public offerings, piling into late-stage funding rounds for banking app Chime, data firm Databricks and videoconferencing startup Hopin. New data shows just how much Tiger and other deep-pocketed investors have pulled back so far this year. Tiger’s participation... Last year, Tiger Global Management led a rush to back startups nearing initial public offerings,...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How the Myth of the Hot Round Hurts Founders

By Aaron Harris · Feb 16, 2022 9:00am PST · 11 comments

Here's a fun little paradox in fundraising: Founders and the media love to talk about how quickly funding rounds happen these days—think about the big, rapid-fire raises from OpenSea, DataBricks and others—but when you watch a fundraising process from start to finish, it’s never as fast as it seems. Even the tidiest-looking... Here's a fun little paradox in fundraising: Founders and the media love to talk about how...

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Databricks. Photo by Bloomberg

The Big Interview

Databricks Dismisses Open Source Criticism of Amazon

By Kevin McLaughlin · Dec 27, 2019 7:00am PST · 2 comments

To some advocates of open source—the software created by squads of volunteer developers—Amazon has become a bogeyman because of the way it offers their free programs through its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services. Ali Ghodsi isn’t one of the Amazon haters. Ghodsi is the CEO of Databricks, a six-year-old startup that... To some advocates of open source—the software created by squads of volunteer...