Some Key Information You Need to Know About AI Data Giant Databricks Backed by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon

Founded in 2013, Databricks was established by seven researchers from UC Berkeley's AMPLab, including the core creators of the Apache Spark open-source project.

The company pioneered the "Lakehouse" architecture, unifying the storage flexibility of data lakes with the analytical performance of data warehouses on a single platform. Its core product, the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, enables enterprises to perform data engineering, analytical querying, and AI model development across cloud environments including AWS, Azure, and GCP. Currently, over 20,000 organizations globally use its platform, including more than 60% of the Fortune 500.

Databricks has no plans to go public in the near term. Ghodsi made it clear that 2026 is not a suitable window for an IPO. The reason is that SpaceX ( SPCX ), OpenAI, and Anthropic going public in succession will divert market liquidity. Against this backdrop, it will be difficult for other tech companies' IPOs to garner sufficient attention.

However, going public remains the company's established direction. According to a report by The Information, Ghodsi privately disclosed to investors that an IPO could be launched as early as 2027.

Databricks has maintained a rapid pace of private fundraising, with its valuation steadily climbing.

In August 2025, the company's valuation reached approximately $100 billion.

In December 2025, it completed its Series L funding round, raising over $4 billion and pushing its valuation to $134 billion, with the round led by Insight Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

In February 2026, it secured more than $5 billion in additional funding, maintaining its valuation at $134 billion.

In June 2026, according to multiple sources, the company was in talks for a new round of financing, targeting a valuation range of $165 billion to $175 billion.

According to public reports, the company's cumulative funding has approached $30 billion, with other major investors including prominent firms such as NEA and Battery Ventures.

Databricks' revenue growth has continued to accelerate over the past year:

Annualized revenue from AI-related products increased from $1.4 billion in February 2026 to $1.7 billion in June. Ghodsi acknowledged that the AI agent-driven compute consumption model would weigh on gross margins, but operating cash flow has turned positive.

In the data platform space, Databricks and Snowflake ( SNOW) are often compared side-by-side, but the gap between the two is widening.

Valuation: Databricks has a private market valuation of $134 billion (targeting $165 billion to $175 billion in its upcoming round), while Snowflake's public market capitalization is approximately $83 billion.

Annualized Revenue: Databricks stands at $6.9 billion (up >80% YoY), while Snowflake is around $5.6 billion (annualized based on Q1 FY2027 data, up approximately 34% YoY).

In terms of product positioning, Databricks targets data engineers and scientists, centering on Python, SQL, and Scala, and excelling in large-scale ETL, stream processing, and AI workloads; Snowflake is SQL-first, aligning better with the needs of analysts.

Many enterprises use both, with Databricks handling data transformation and Snowflake serving as the analytical query layer. Databricks' competitive boundaries have expanded to Google ( GOOGL ), Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, with the focus of competition shifting from data management to the interaction gateway of "how users converse with data."

As Databricks remains a private company, retail investors cannot trade its shares directly on public exchanges. Currently available options include:

1. Waiting for the IPO. The company is expected to go public as early as 2027, at which point its shares will be publicly traded.
2. Private Equity Funds. Some private equity funds include Databricks in their portfolios, allowing retail investors to hold indirect stakes without requiring accredited investor certification.
3. Secondary Markets (Accredited Investors Only) . Purchasing existing shares through secondary market platforms such as Forge and EquityZen, though investors should be mindful of transfer restrictions, minimum investment requirements, and the risk of prices deviating from the latest valuation. Specific trading terms are subject to the rules of each platform.
4. Institutional Investors Invested in Databricks. Gaining indirect exposure to its growth by allocating capital to funds managed by institutions such as Andreessen Horowitz, Insight Partners, and Fidelity.

Founded by the creators of Apache Spark, Databricks centers on its data lakehouse platform and has achieved rapid AI-driven revenue growth, with its valuation already exceeding $100 billion and continuing to climb. The company has made it clear that it will not go public in 2026, with an IPO possible in 2027 at the earliest.

In its competition with Snowflake, Databricks holds the upper hand in both valuation and growth rate, but it also faces pressure from broader AI giants. For retail investors, there is currently no direct channel to invest; they should monitor IPO progress or gain exposure indirectly through private equity funds.

This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.