Databricks raises $10B in Series J round at $62B valuation

Data analytics and AI firm Databricks has raised $10 billion in Series J financing, valuing the company at $62 billion. The round is led by Thrive Capital, with co-leaders Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, GIC, Insight Partners, and WCM Investment Management.

This is among the largest venture rounds, exceeding OpenAI’s $6.6 billion raise in October.

Additional contributions came from existing backer Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and new investors ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Sands Capital, and Wellington Management.

The fresh capital will be allocated towards new AI products, acquisitions, and expand its international go-to-market operations. 

The funding will also provide liquidity for current and former employees and cover related taxes. This quarter, the company expects to achieve positive free cash flow for the first time. The company reported over 60% year-over-year growth in recent quarters, largely driven by interest in AI. 

"We were substantially oversubscribed with this round and are super excited to bring on some of the world's most well-known investors who have a deep conviction in our vision. These are still the early days of AI. We are positioning the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to deliver long-term value for our customers and our team is committed to helping companies across every industry build data intelligence," said Ali Ghodsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Databricks.

The Databricks Data Intelligence Platform provides broad access to data and AI for analytics, machine learning, and AI applications. Built on open source technology, it supports businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs, and manage risk. Customers use it to detect diseases earlier, address climate change, identify financial fraud, develop pharmaceuticals, reduce time to mental health interventions, and reduce financial inequality.

"Databricks, driven by its mission to democratise data and AI, has emerged as the platform of choice. We have witnessed the team's unrelenting execution, and consider it an honor to be partners with the company for the long term," said Joshua Kushner, CEO of Thrive Capital. 

To date, over 10,000 organisations worldwide, including Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, Shell, and over 60% of the Fortune 500, use the San Francisco-based firm’s Data Intelligence Platform to manage their data by utilising AI.