In a strategic move, Databricks has announced its acquisition of the data management startup, Tabular, for over US$1 billion ($1.5 billion). This move by the privately held analytics platform aims to entice customers by assisting them in developing tailored artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Amid the growing trend of companies establishing an ecosystem for utilizing open-source AI models, the competition is fierce with players like Snowflake and Cloudera vying for market dominance.
Formed in 2021 by Ryan Blue, Daniel Weeks, and Jason Reid, Tabular offers a versatile storage solution to its clientele.
Based in San Francisco, California, Databricks revealed that Tabular’s 40-member team will merge with its ranks post the finalization of the deal in the second quarter ending on July 31.
The surge in AI demand underscores the importance of robust infrastructure to handle and govern corporate data, especially with companies developing their own extensive language models, exemplified by OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT.
Databricks’ key offering is a technology designed to effectively store vast volumes of corporate data for easy accessibility and analysis.
Despite this, the conventional practice often involves a data scientist writing code to identify and manipulate the data.
Last year, Databricks had sealed the acquisition of the AI startup, MosaicML, in a transaction valued at US$1.3 billion in June.
Among Databricks’ clientele are industry giants such as AT&T, Warner Bros Discovery, and Rivian Automotive, to name a few.
In 2023, Databricks attracted over US$500 million in funding, raising its valuation to US$43 billion, marking a significant funding milestone for private tech firms in the era of AI-driven optimism.
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