Databricks is turning heads amid reports of a major new funding round following strong sales growth over the course of this year.
Massive Valuation Surge
The fast-growing AI and data analytics firm is looking to raise $5 billion in its latest funding round, at a massive valuation of $134 billion, according to a report by The Information.
This comes just a few months after the company closed its Series K round, raising $1 billion, at a $100 billion valuation in September. With the company on track to hit $4 billion in annualized revenue this year, the latest round values it 32 times sales.
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The new round would catapult Databricks' valuation by 116% this year, up from, $62 billion during its Series J round in December last year.
The company has revised its sales outlook for the year from $3.8 billion to $4.0 billion, before raising it again. As a result, it is set to post a 55% year-over-year increase in sales, underscoring the unrelenting demand for AI and automation. It currently counts over 20,000 customers using its platform.
Databricks The New ‘GOAT’ of AI?
Recently, short seller Citron Research has pointed out that Databricks is running circles around Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), which was dubbed “the Messi of AI” by analyst Dan Ives, of Wedbush Securities. This comes as the company outperforms Palantir across several key metrics such as growth, customer count and more.
Earlier this year, Palantir itself inked a strategic partnership with Databricks to merge its AI operating platform with the latter’s AI, data warehousing, and data engineering solutions.
While this new funding round pushes the company’s much-awaited IPO further down the road, it already has the backing of several prominent investors, including Cathie Wood’s Ark Venture Fund, NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who are all now sitting on significant gains.
Databricks did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s requests for a comment on this matter. This story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.
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