Databricks secures USD $10bn funding, USD $5.25bn credit

Databricks, specialising in data and artificial intelligence, has announced the completion of a USD $10 billion Series J funding round, alongside securing a USD $5.25 billion credit facility, as it aims to expand its international operations and invest in AI advancements.

A diverse group of investors, both existing and new, participated in the Series J funding. Notably, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, QIA, and new investors such as Temasek and Macquarie Capital entities have contributed to the round. The investment values Databricks at USD $62 billion. Additionally, Meta has been introduced as a strategic investor in this latest round.

The company intends to use the investment to advance its portfolio of AI products, pursue acquisitions, and broaden its international marketing strategies. Additionally, funds will be channelled towards providing liquidity for its current and former employees and covering associated tax obligations.

The recently closed USD $5.25 billion credit facility was steered by financial giants including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. It comprises a USD $2.5 billion unfunded revolver and a USD $2.75 billion term loan.

Ali Ghodsi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Databricks, remarked on the successful round of funding: "We received overwhelming interest in this round from both new and existing investors and strategic partners who believe in our vision and market impact. These partners are focused on the long-term success of Databricks and our rapidly growing customer base."

Ghodsi underscored the importance of data intelligence in enabling organisations to modernise their data and AI infrastructures, stating, "Organisations are modernising their data and AI infrastructure because they recognise the immense potential of generative AI. Data intelligence is critical to both unlocking this potential and to helping enterprises reach their business goals."

The Databricks Data Intelligence Platform aims to make data and AI accessible, facilitating analytics, machine learning, and AI application development for various organisations. The platform, developed on an open-source foundation, aims to drive innovation and assist companies in revenue enhancement, cost reduction, and risk mitigation.

The platform supports companies in diverse sectors, assisting in tasks such as premature disease and cancer detection, climate change mitigation, financial fraud detection, faster pharmaceutical development, reduced mental health intervention times, and addressing local financial inequality.

Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi, Chief Executive Officer of QIA, expressed enthusiasm over the renewed investment in Databricks, saying: "We are excited to deepen our commitment to Databricks through this follow-on investment, underscoring our strong conviction in the company's leadership and strategic positioning. At QIA, we are expanding our exposure across the AI ecosystem and believe Databricks has become the leading platform within the AI infrastructure software space."

Databricks maintains its headquarters in San Francisco and serves a global clientele including major organisations like Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, and Shell, as well as over 60% of the Fortune 500 companies. The company originates from the creators of foundational technology frameworks, such as Lakehouse, Apache Spark, Delta Lake, and MLflow.