Databricks raises $5B at $190B valuation after investor frenzy
Original: Databricks wanted to raise $1B, investors wanted $15B. It settled on $5B at a $190B valuation.
Why This Matters
Databricks' $190B valuation and 80% revenue growth signal sustained enterprise AI infrastructure demand.
AI data company Databricks raised $5 billion at a $190 billion valuation, led by Coatue with participation from Blackstone, MGX, T. Rowe Price, and Sixth Street Growth. The round was originally planned at $1 billion but ballooned after investor demand reached $15 billion.
Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi revealed that the company initially planned to raise only $1 billion in its latest funding round. However, after The Information published a report about the fundraise mid-conference in June, investor interest exploded. 'My phone blew up,' Ghodsi told TechCrunch, noting the timing was difficult as the team was focused on their conference. Investor demand from a select group alone reached $15 billion, forcing Databricks to issue more shares than planned to avoid alienating long-term backers. The round closed at $5 billion, led by Coatue, with roughly two dozen participants including Blackstone, MGX, various T. Rowe Price accounts, and new investor Sixth Street Growth — the firm founded by former Goldman Sachs CIO Alan Waxman. Databricks' valuation rose to $190 billion, up from the $188 billion announced in July. Ghodsi cited strong financials as the backdrop: $7 billion in annualized run rate revenue growing at 80% year-over-year, with its core cloud data warehouse alone at $1.5 billion ARR growing at 100%. Its agent database product Lakebase has reached $100 million in revenue run rate since launching in June 2025. The company cited expensive AI research, multibillion-dollar hyperscaler cloud commitments, and potential acquisitions as reasons to raise despite already having raised $20 billion over the prior 20 months.