Databricks raises $4B at $134B valuation as AI business drives 55% revenue growth

Databricks raises $4B at $134B valuation as its AI business heats up | TechCrunch

The IPO window may have cracked open, but it seems some former startups have no intention of going public. Makes sense, in a way: IPOs were traditionally a way to raise money, and if you can manage to raise ungodly amounts without having to put your company through public scrutiny, why do it? Databricks is proving that point: the data intelligence company has just raised more than $4 billion in a Series L funding round at a $134 billion valuation -- up 34% from the $100 billion valuation that it achieved just three months ago. This is Databricks' third major venture fundraise in less than a year, and it comes as the company focuses on building products that address the needs of the AI revolution: a database for AI agents, an AI agent platform, and apps that let companies build and deploy data and AI applications. The company is investing heavily in its database for AI agents, known as Lakebase, which is based on the open source database Postgres (enabled by the $1-billion acquisition of a startup called Neon), and is aimed at corporate developers' vibe-coding projects. Meanwhile, its AI agent platform, Agent Bricks, is aimed at helping businesses build and deploy AI agents that can tap into their data. The company has also struck hefty deals worth hundreds of millions with AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI to offer their models within its enterprise products. Series L rounds aren't really common, but the fact that Datbricks has managed to raise venture funding at ever-increasing valuations (it was valued at $60 billion around this time last year) indicates how strongly investors believe in the power of helping companies use data to fuel their AI efforts. Indeed, Databricks on Tuesday said it now generates run-rate revenue of more than $4.8 billion, up 55% from a year earlier, of which more than $1 billion came from its AI products. "The parallel rise of vibe coding and generative AI is accelerating the development of data-intelligent applications in the enterprise. Databricks will use this new capital to help customers build AI apps and agents on their proprietary data, leveraging Lakebase as the system of record, Databricks Apps as the user experience layer, and Agent Bricks to power multi-agent systems," the company said in a press release. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company will also use the new money to add thousands of new jobs in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, as well as bring on more AI researchers. "Enterprises are rapidly reimagining how they build intelligent applications, and the convergence of generative AI with new coding paradigms is opening the door to entirely new workloads," Databricks' co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi said in a statement. The round was led by Insight Partners, Fidelity, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Blackstone, Coatue, GIC, MGX, NEA, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Robinhood Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates, Temasek, Thrive Capital, and Winslow Capital also participated.

After $4 Bn Databricks Haul, is IPO Still Endgame for AI Companies? | AIM

Databricks has remained cash-flow positive for the past 12 months, a rarity among high-growth tech firms in the AI space. Databricks is operating at a scale most companies reach only after going public. With a $4.8 billion annual revenue run rate, positive cash flow, and a valuation of $134 billion, the data platform is challenging long-held assumptions about when -- or whether -- high-growth tech companies need an IPO. The data platform recently announced raising more than $4 billion in a Series L round, a scale of late-stage funding that remains rare, as demand for AI and data platforms continues to grow. Commenting on the company's prolonged stay in the private markets, Vasuman M, founder of AI engineering firm Varick Agents, joked on X, "Imagine joining Databricks in 2017 at its Series D, thinking the IPO was just around the corner, and then nine years later the company is raising a Series L."

Databricks raises $4bn Series L at $134bn valuation

Co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi tells CNBC that Databricks could go public in 2026. Just a few months after raising a Series K round and crossing the $100bn valuation mark, software giant Databricks has raised a fresh $4bn investment in a Series L round, valuing the company at $134bn. The round was led by Insight Partners, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and JP Morgan Asset Management with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Blackstone and Robinhood Ventures, among others. The capital infusion allows the company advance product development across three of its strategic products. These include the company's Lakebase serverless database, Databricks Apps and 'Agent Bricks', which helps customers build and scale AI agents on their data. The funds will be used to continue helping customers build AI apps and agents on their data, leverage Lakebase as the system of record, Databricks Apps as the user experience layer, and Agent Bricks to power multi-agent systems. In addition, the capital is expected to provide liquidity for employees and help support future AI acquisitions. "By anchoring transactional data in Lakebase, delivering intuitive experiences through Databricks Apps, and enabling advanced multi-agent systems with Agent Bricks, we're giving customers a unified foundation to build trusted, high-performance Data Intelligent Applications at scale," said Ali Ghodsi, the co-founder and CEO of Databricks. Despite the fresh raise, Ghodsi told CNBC that he wouldn't rule out an initial public offering in 2026. "Our continued investment in Databricks reflects our deep conviction in their extraordinary momentum today and their ambitious vision for the future," said John Wolff, Managing Director at Insight Partners. "Databricks leads the way in turning AI innovation into enterprise impact. We're thrilled to deepen our investment in a team that continues to pair strong financial performance with real customer results, setting the standard for how AI creates value for businesses. Databricks is just getting started." Databricks crossed $4.8bn in revenue run-rate during its third quarter and is growing 55pc year over year. Over the past year, the company has launched or expanded partnerships with Microsoft, Google Cloud, Anthropic, SAP and Palantir. Its five-year deal with Anthropic, valued at $100m, offers Anthropic's Claude AI models through Databricks' data intelligence platform, allowing its more than 15,000 client companies to build and deploy AI agents that can reason on their own data. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Databricks raises $4B+ at $134B valuation to build new AI features - SiliconANGLE

Four months after its last funding round, Databricks Inc. today announced that it has closed a Series L investment worth more than $4 billion. The deal was jointly led by Insight Partners, Fidelity Management & Research and J.P. Morgan. They were joined by more than a dozen other backers including Robinhood Markets Inc.'s venture capital arm. Databricks is now worth $134 billion, up from about $100 billion in August. The steep valuation increase is a reflection of the company's fast revenue growth. Databricks disclosed today that its annualized revenue topped $4.8 billion in the third quarter thanks partly to increasing demand from existing customers. The company's net retention rate, a metric that tracks how users increase their spending over time, is over 140%. There are also other drivers behind Databricks' sales momentum. One of them is Lakebase, a managed PostgreSQL database it launched in June. The company disclosed today that the service has already been adopted by thousands of customers. Lakehouse will be a focus of the engineering investments Databricks plans to make using its latest funding round. According to the data management provider, the plan is to enhance the service and two other products called Agent Bricks and Databricks Apps. Companies can use the three offerings side-by-side to build applications powered by artificial intelligence agents. Lakebase lends itself to storing features, the data points that AI models use to make decisions. Features are condensed versions of business records that are easier for neural networks to process than the original information. For example, an e-commerce company might distill statistics about website visitor activity into high-level data on what product listings draw the most interest. Lakebase supports so-called online feature serving. That's a data management approach whereby a database not only provides AI models with features, but also regularly updates those features when new information becomes available. Lakebase can provide features to neural networks deployed on both Databricks' platform and external infrastructure. Agent Bricks, another focus of the company's engineering push, helps customers turn their AI models into agents. The tool generates synthetic training data that can be used to optimize agents for specific tasks. Additionally, it creates benchmark tests to measure the effectiveness of AI training runs and eases related tasks such as system prompt development. Companies can turn the AI agents they build with Lakebase and Agent Bricks into applications using Databricks Apps, the third product the company plans to enhance. The latter offering speeds up application development by automating several manual tasks. That includes the process of implementing authentication features, access controls and other cybersecurity guardrails. "By anchoring transactional data in Lakebase, delivering intuitive experiences through Databricks Apps, and enabling advanced multi-agent systems with Agent Bricks, we're giving customers a unified foundation to build trusted, high-performance data intelligent applications at scale," said Databricks co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ali Ghodsi. The company also plans to invest in other areas. Databricks will use the funding to provide liquidity for employees, finance AI research and make acquisitions. The Lakehouse database service is based on technology it obtained through a May startup acquisition. Ghodsi told the Wall Street Journal today that the company hasn't yet decided when it will go public. That suggests additional funding rounds could follow suit. Databricks has raised more than $14 billion from investors over the past two years.

Data and AI firm Databricks valued at $134 billion in latest funding round

The series L funding round was led by Insight Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock and Blackstone, also participated. Databricks has raised more than $4 billion at a valuation of $134 billion, it said on Tuesday, the latest example of investors betting big on the transformative power of artificial intelligence. The series L funding round was led by Insight Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock and Blackstone, also participated. Investors have been pouring capital into anything remotely connected with generative AI, as they expect the rapid adoption of the technology to boost efficiency and corporate spending, while driving long-term growth in data-driven applications. The San Francisco-based company said it had surpassed a $4.8 billion revenue run rate in the third quarter, growing more than 55% from a year earlier. Revenue from its AI products and data warehousing businesses each exceeded a $1 billion run rate, all while delivering positive free cash flow over the last 12 months, it added. Founded in 2013, the U.S.-based data and artificial intelligence company provides a cloud-based platform for data engineering, analytics and machine learning. "We're thrilled to deepen our investment in a team that continues to pair strong financial performance with real customer results, setting the standard for how AI creates value for businesses," said John Wolff, managing director at Insight Partners. Databricks said it planned to use the funds to accelerate the development of AI-driven applications, support future acquisitions, expand AI research and provide liquidity for employees. The company caters to more than 20,000 customers globally, including large corporations such as Shell, AT&T, Toyota, Adobe, S&P Global, Warner Bros Discovery and NBA, according to its website.

Databricks Targets $134 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. This Series L round would value the company at $134 billion, up 34% from its last session of funding during the summer, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (Dec. 16). Ali Ghodsi, Databricks' co-founder and CEO, told the WSJ the company plans to use the new funding to invest in its core data-analytics products and AI software, while also letting its workers engage in secondary share sales. The company, among the most valuable private firms in Silicon Valley, also plans to hire around 600 fresh college graduates in 2026, the CEO added, in addition to adding thousands of new jobs worldwide in Asia, Latin America and Europe. It also plans to hire AI researchers, who are typically paid top salaries, the WSJ added. The report noted that Databricks has benefited from the AI boom, which relies partially on private corporate data to customize AI models. Databricks told the WSJ that its data-warehousing product, which can serve as an underlying data platform for AI services, surpassed a $1 billion revenue run rate at the end of October. This year has seen Databricks ink deals with OpenAI and Anthropic to help sell AI services to business customers. Each of these partnerships are designed to push clients to develop AI agents, or independent bots that can carry out tasks on behalf of humans. The company's new funding round comes three months after Databricks' Series K round, which valued it more than $100 billion, up from $62 billion at the start of the year. In other AI news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about The General Intelligence Company of New York, a start up developing agent-based systems designed to take over large portions of company operations. "The company's name deliberately evokes Gilded Age ambition, and founder Andrew Pignanelli told PYMNTS that the reference was intentional," that report said. "He said he views AI as foundational infrastructure for the next era of company-building, much as railroads and industrial capital reshaped the United States economy more than a century ago." The company started by working backward from "the one-person billion-dollar business," as Pignanelli termed it. "We started at the end, the actual one-person billion-dollar company, and worked our way back and we were like, 'What can we do today?'" he said.