Databricks announced this Thursday (August 13) that it raised US$ 5 billion, lifting its valuation to US$ 190 billion. Cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi told TechCrunch the company had intended to raise US$ 1 billion, but investor interest reached US$ 15 billion.
In July, the company had announced the closing of the round at a US$ 188 billion valuation, without disclosing the amount raised. This Thursday, Databricks detailed that the amount was US$ 5 billion and that the valuation rose to US$ 190 billion. The round was led by Coatue, with participation from Blackstone, MGX, T. Rowe Price accounts, and new investor Sixth Street Growth. About two dozen funds joined the deal.
Unexpected demand
Ghodsi said the report by The Information, published during Databricks's conference in June, was the trigger for the high demand. “As soon as the article came out, a line of investors started calling. My phone exploded,” he said. According to him, interest from investors selected by the company alone totaled US$ 15 billion.
The CEO said Databricks reports US$ 7 billion in annualized recurring revenue, with 80% growth and positive cash flow. The cloud data warehouse, its main product, accounts for US$ 1.5 billion of that total and grows 100% a year. The Lakebase agent database, launched in June 2025, reached US$ 100 million in annual recurring revenue.
Why raise more
Ghodsi justified the new round by the high costs of artificial intelligence. The company had already raised US$ 20 billion in the last 20 months. It maintains multibillion-dollar commitments with the three largest cloud providers and has an AI research team of 100 people. “We make a lot of acquisitions,” the CEO said.
This week, Databricks announced the acquisition of Electric, owner of the PGlite database. In June, it acquired Panther, a cybersecurity company; in March, it bought two startups. Ghodsi told CNBC he still intends to take the company public, but for now, the focus is investing in AI.
