Databricks, a leader in data intelligence based in San Francisco, is establishing a research and development center in Vancouver while anticipating its valuation will surpass $100 billion USD soon.
The new center will focus on advancing Databricks’ artificial intelligence and business intelligence offerings, specifically Unity Catalog Semantics, Databricks Apps, and infrastructure for massive real-time analytics. A launch and networking event is planned at the Vancouver office with Databricks’ engineering and founding team members on August 21 at 6 p.m. PST.
Ken Wong, founder of the Vancouver-based revenue intelligence startup Datajoy acquired by Databricks in 2022, will lead this hub. Wong has been serving as Databricks’ senior director of product management since then. According to Wong in a blog post, Vancouver offers a rich pool of data and AI talent, making it an ideal location for Databricks’ strategic initiatives.
Founded in 2013 by a team of seven, including University of Toronto alumnus Reynold Xin and University of Waterloo alumnus Matei Zaharia, Databricks has expanded its influence, with Xin also supporting Vancouver startup Gumloop. Recently, Gumloop received a significant investment from Shopify Ventures.
Databricks announced this week that it anticipates concluding a Series K funding round, valuing the company above $100 billion. TechCrunch notes that the round is expected to secure approximately $1 billion. The company continues to postpone its initial public offering (IPO) due to market conditions, aiming for a $3.7 billion annual revenue by July, reflecting a 50 percent growth from the previous year.
Ali Ghodsi, Databricks’ co-founder and CEO, stated that the firm’s AI products are gaining strong investor interest, fueling significant business operations worldwide. The current funding round is already oversubscribed, showing alignment with investors who share Databricks’ AI vision.
Databricks has implemented or enhanced partnerships with Microsoft, Google Cloud, Anthropic, SAP, and Palantir over recent months, serving over 15,000 organizations and more than 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies.