Databricks has raised 138 trillion won (approximately $100 billion USD) in funding at a valuation of 145 trillion won (about $105 billion USD). The company is aiming to expand its presence in the AI infrastructure market, focusing on developing foundational AI tools and services to support enterprise AI applications and cloud-based AI solutions. This funding round underscores the growing investment and confidence in Databricks' role as a leader in data analytics and AI technology development.
DataBrick has raised over $9.6 billion (approximately 1,382.4 trillion KRW) in new funding, valuing the company at $100.8 billion (about 145.1 trillion KRW). The funding round began with a $5.8 billion equity investment announced late last year and was expanded with an additional $2.8 billion in debt financing.
This round of investment was led by major global financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Notably, Microsoft’s participation is interpreted as a strategic decision based on the strengthened partnership since last year. DataBrick plans to use the funds for new product development, talent acquisition, mergers and acquisitions, and providing liquidity for internal employees.
The key investment targets are two core AI products. The first is “Elf,” an AI assistant capable of data queries via natural language commands. This tool not only supports simple data queries but also offers APIs for developers to connect external services. Customers can provide pre-tested SQL templates to Elf, reducing errors and increasing accuracy.
The second is “Lakes,” acquired last year for approximately 1.44 trillion KRW. This is a managed PostgreSQL database used as an optimized data store for AI agents to store configuration information and collect data needed for prompt responses. Recently, DataBrick introduced the “scale to zero” feature for Lakes, a highly complex function that automatically shuts down unused database instances, saving unnecessary infrastructure costs.
DataBrick co-founder and CEO Ali Goodsey stated, “We will leverage this investment to evolve Lakes into an operational database optimized for AI agents,” and added, “We will also significantly enhance Elf’s capabilities so that all employees can use their data as freely as having a conversation.”
The company’s annual recurring revenue currently stands at $5.4 billion (about 77.7 trillion KRW), representing over 65% growth compared to last year. The recurring revenue from AI-related product lines surged from $1 billion in early December last year to $1.4 billion (about 2.016 trillion KRW). Notably, over 800 clients spend more than $1 million annually, with 70 companies exceeding $14.4 million in spending.
Through this investment, DataBrick is expected to solidify its position as an infrastructure company in the AI era and further widen the gap with major competitors like Snowflake in the cloud data analytics market.