CEO Ali Ghodsi attributed much of the momentum to businesses deploying AI agents. Speaking with CNBC, he described customer “demand” as “crazy” and pointed to Lakebase, Genie and AI Gateway as areas showing strength. “What’s happening basically is everybody’s using these agents, AI agents, and the whole world is laser focused on agents, AI, and sort of you know that core part of it,” Ghodsi said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
Databricks says Lakebase, its database designed for AI agents, has already moved beyond a $100 million revenue run rate. Its Lakehouse data warehousing business has surpassed a $1.5 billion run rate.
The company, founded in 2013, provides technology that businesses use to develop AI applications and agents with their own data. Its expansion into newer businesses also includes cybersecurity, while its $190 billion private valuation now exceeds the market value of public rival Snowflake.
Rising costs associated with running AI models are creating another opportunity for Databricks. AI Gateway is designed to give customers greater control over model usage and spending, an issue Ghodsi says has become increasingly important as companies deploy AI more broadly. He also said customers have become more willing to consider Chinese models after previously favoring proprietary frontier systems. “The attitude a year or two ago was we just need frontier proprietary, and we can just ignore Chinese models,” Ghodsi said. “What has happened is that this token maxing has freaked out the CFOs.”
That shift gives Databricks an opening to position AI Gateway around the cost pressures accompanying enterprise AI adoption. As businesses scrutinize token spending, the platform gives customers tools to manage how models are used and what those workloads cost.
The fresh capital also allows Databricks to continue investing without immediately entering public markets. Ghodsi said the company ultimately intends to become publicly traded but currently sees an IPO as a potential distraction while it focuses on expanding its AI products. “We’re not just a company that wants to stay in the private, but right now I just think there would be too much distraction in the public market,” he said.
Databricks is not alone in weighing private funding against an eventual listing. Anthropic and OpenAI have both filed confidentially to go public, while SpaceX has already completed its IPO and experienced volatility in its shares since its debut.
For Databricks, the latest financing provides another substantial pool of private capital while sharply increasing its valuation. The company has moved from $134 billion to $190 billion in six months as its revenue run rate surpassed $7 billion and newer AI-focused products began contributing meaningful revenue of their own.
This analysis is based on reporting from CNBC.
Image courtesy of Databricks.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
