Databricks reaches $190 billion valuation in $5 billion financing
Databricks closed a $5 billion round at a $190 billion valuation, six months after a $134 billion financing.
By Marcus Adeyemi · Startups Editor
· 3 min read
Databricks has closed a $5 billion strategic funding round at a $190 billion valuation, taking the private data and AI software company’s stated value up $56 billion from its February financing. The Databricks $190 billion valuation follows an approximately $5 billion equity round completed six months earlier at a $134 billion valuation, alongside approximately $2 billion in added debt capacity.
The latest round was led by Coatue, alongside Blackstone, MGX, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price and new investor Sixth Street Growth, Databricks said in its August 13 announcement. The company did not disclose investor ownership stakes or whether the announced valuation was pre- or post-money. Those distinctions matter when comparing private-company values, as startup valuation is the negotiated price used to set a financing’s ownership and dilution.
The $190 billion figure represents a 41.8% increase from the $134 billion mark. Databricks said it will direct the capital toward Lakebase, its serverless Postgres database for AI agents; Genie, a product that turns business data into answers and actions; and Unity AI Gateway, a tool for model governance and cost controls.
How did Databricks reach a $190 billion valuation?
Databricks reported that its revenue run-rate exceeded $7 billion in the second quarter, with growth above 80% year over year. A run-rate annualizes a recent revenue period and is not the same as reported annual revenue. The company also said it had generated positive adjusted free cash flow over the preceding 12 months.
Those are company-reported measures, not independently verified financial results. CNBC reported the same revenue run-rate and growth figures, while its report did not state a GAAP profitability measure, investor ownership stakes or a public-market capitalization.
In February, Databricks said its revenue run-rate had exceeded $5.4 billion and it had grown more than 65% year over year in the fourth quarter. At the disclosed thresholds, the run-rate rose by at least 29.6% between the two financings. A simple comparison of valuation to stated run-rate rises from about 24.8 times in February to about 27.1 times in August. That is only a rough comparison: both revenue figures are minimum thresholds, run-rate is not audited annual revenue, and the financing terms needed to establish directly comparable valuation treatment were not provided.
What will Databricks spend the new funding on?
Databricks said Lakebase had passed a $100 million revenue run-rate. Its Lakehouse data-warehousing product exceeded a $1.5 billion run-rate and grew more than 100% year over year, according to the company. It also reported more than 1,000 customers consuming at more than a $1 million run-rate, including more than 100 above $10 million.
Chief executive Ali Ghodsi told CNBC that Databricks intends to become public eventually, but he said a listing would currently be a distraction while the company invests in AI products amid market volatility. CNBC’s report did not give an IPO timetable. The new financing supplies fresh private capital, while the company’s timing for a public offering remains unspecified.
This story draws on original reporting from TechFundingNews.
