Databricks Raises $500M in Series I Funding, Valued at $43 Billion
- ByStartupStory | September 15, 2023
US-based data analytics and AI company Databricks has successfully secured over $500 million in a Series I funding round, achieving a remarkable valuation of $43 billion. Leading the funding round was T. Rowe Price Associates, with participation from existing investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global. Notable new investors include chip manufacturer NVIDIA, Capital One Ventures, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Databricks, which has highlighted India as one of its key markets, intends to bolster its workforce in the country by at least 50% this year. In collaboration with AI computing leader NVIDIA, Databricks is actively working on developing transformative AI technology. Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, “Enterprise data is a goldmine for generative AI. Databricks is doing incredible work with NVIDIA technology to accelerate data processing and generative AI models.”
The company’s expansion plans for India involve the creation of specialized roles, including technical specialists, sales and support engineers, and go-to-market resources, to support its business growth. Additionally, Databricks plans to establish an R&D hub in Bengaluru later this year.
Databricks recently appointed Anil Bhasin as the Country Manager for India, underscoring its commitment to driving the widespread adoption of its Lakehouse platform across the nation. The Lakehouse platform unifies data, analytics, and AI on a single platform, empowering customers to govern, manage, derive insights from enterprise data, and expedite the development of generative AI solutions.
Bhasin expressed his belief that India’s data revolution could set an example for other nations, stating, “I believe we can make India the world’s first data AI-driven economy… Enterprises are either data-leaning or data-forward, or they’re not. I can’t see how any organization that isn’t data-leaning within the next 15 years will survive.”
In India, numerous companies, including InMobi, Swiggy, Dream11, Air India, MakeMyTrip, Meesho, Narayana Health, Myntra, CRED, and Parle, are recognizing the potential of data and harnessing AI to optimize their operations and foster innovation using the Lakehouse platform.
Alan Tu, Lead Private Equity Analyst at T. Rowe Price Associates, commended Databricks, stating, “Data and AI have rapidly become the centerpiece of many business strategies. Databricks has not only pioneered the Lakehouse category with a world-class team and product, but it is now also at the forefront of generative AI for the enterprise.”
This funding round follows Databricks’ acquisition of MosaicML, a generative AI platform, valued at $1.3 billion. The company reported crossing a revenue run rate of $1.5 billion, with over 50% year-on-year growth, in the second quarter of the year, serving a global customer base of 10,000. Furthermore, it has experienced 90% year-on-year business growth across the Asia Pacific region. In August 2021, Databricks secured $1.6 billion in funding, reaching a post-money valuation of $38 billion. The current valuation of $43 billion represents a 13% increase.
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