US software company co-founded by two Romanians reaches USD 62 billion valuation
Databricks, a US-based software company co-founded by Romanian entrepreneurs Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, has reached a USD 62 billion valuation after securing new funding worth USD 10 billion.
The company, ranked among the most valuable private companies globally, plans to invest this capital in new AI products, acquisitions, and significantly expanding its international sales operations. Part of the sum will also be used to purchase shares held by both current and former employees as the company prepares to go public.
In the fiscal year ending January 2025, Databricks expects to surpass USD 3 billion in annualized revenue. Sales grew by more than 60% in the most recent quarter, which ended in October.
The company is expanding rapidly at a time when many software makers are struggling to grow. "Maintaining this growth pace means expanding Databricks' marketing operations and engineering talent," said the company's CEO, Ali Ghodsi, cited by Economedia.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Databricks is seeking approximately USD 2.5 billion from private creditors to help offset the tax burden associated with the transaction. The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, an American venture capital firm, alongside firms like Andreessen Horowitz and DST Global.
Investors have long awaited an initial public offering from Databricks, but the company’s ability to raise large sums in private markets has allowed it to wait.
"These people are good executors. They are ready to go public," said Vince Hankes, partner at Thrive Capital. "Raising a small amount of capital and providing employees with liquidity removes some of the pressure," he added.
Databricks focuses on software for processing, analyzing, and creating AI applications using complex data from various sources. Its main competitors are generally considered to be Snowflake Inc. and services offered by cloud infrastructure providers, such as Fabric from Microsoft Corp.
According to CB Insights data, Databricks's valuation of USD 62 billion places It behind only a few private companies, such as OpenAI and SpaceX. The company CEO said a public offering could be in the works by next year at the earliest.
(Photo source: Timon Schneider | Dreamstime.com)
