Data analytics platform Databricks raised $1.6 billion in a funding round that valued the company at $38 billion, the artificial intelligence (AI)-based firm announced in a Tuesday (Aug. 31) press release.
The Series H round was led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s investment arm Counterpoint Global.
The money will be used to build Databricks’ engineering team but the sizable influx of cash “does not push out the IPO,” said Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO, in a Reuters report.
He wouldn’t say when Databricks plans to go public or what route it would take, more traditional or a direct listing in which companies list existing shares without issuing new shares or raising new funds. Ghodsi told Reuters Databricks will not go public via a special purpose acquisition company merger or blank-check firm.
“I think SPACs are much better suited for companies that maybe have difficulty IPOing on their own and have difficulty getting those kind of investments from the kind of mutual funds that we’re talking about,” he said.
Databricks’ annualized revenue is $600 million, said Ghodsi, and most companies of that size would not go public via SPACs.
In February, Databricks raised $1 billion in a funding round led by Franklin Templeton. Other investors include Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Amazon Web Services, Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents of the University of California and Tiger Global Management.
Databricks partners with cloud services offered by Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Alibaba on a cloud-based software platform that companies can use to analyze data.
Related: Zebra Technologies Acquires Antuit.ai
Other companies are relying on AI to boost their businesses too. Front-line business firm Zebra Technologies this week announced its plans to acquire Antuit.ai, a retail and consumer packaged goods-based AI-powered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
Antuit.ai uses AI and machine-learning algorithms “to ensure its customers have the right product in the right place, at the right time, at the right price based on the current state of the supply chain, store inventory, and consumer demand,” according to the joint announcement.
Antuit.ai helps retailers with their omnichannel strategies, with a focus on prices and promotions, inventory allocations and order fulfillment.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More