Databricks has once again captured Wall Street’s attention, raising $7 billion through a mix of equity and debt at a staggering $134 billion valuation. For some, another mega-funding round from a high-profile private tech company might feel routine. Databricks has done this before. Big numbers have become part of the brand.
But this round feels different.
As the company edges closer to a potential IPO, Databricks is beginning to operate with the transparency and discipline of a public firm. The financial details it is choosing to share reveal something far more significant than the headline valuation. They offer a glimpse into how artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping the foundations of enterprise software.
When AI Builds the Database
One statistic stands out: 80% of the databases created on Databricks’ platform are now generated by AI agents rather than human developers.
That figure is not limited to Silicon Valley startups or AI-native companies. Databricks serves more than 20,000 customers across industries — from finance and healthcare to retail and manufacturing. In other words, this shift is happening inside mainstream enterprises, not just experimental labs.
For months, the tech world has debated whether AI agents are truly transformative or simply helpful coding assistants. The data from Databricks suggests the transformation is already underway. These agents are no longer just drafting snippets of code. They are building real infrastructure, automating complex workflows, and accelerating development inside some of the world’s largest organizations.
The implications are enormous. If AI can autonomously construct core systems like databases, the speed and economics of software development change dramatically. The traditional boundaries between engineers and automation begin to blur.
A Front-Row Seat to the Shift
To better understand what this means for the broader market, we spoke with Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi — a central figure Inside the AI economy with Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi at a moment when the entire software industry is in flux.
Ghodsi sits at the crossroads of AI models, enterprise data, and the infrastructure powering both. Databricks’ platform connects foundational AI models with the proprietary datasets companies rely on to run their businesses. That vantage point gives him unusual visibility into which AI models are gaining traction, how enterprises are deploying them, and how quickly AI agents are improving.
According to Ghodsi, companies are no longer experimenting with AI on the margins. They are integrating it into mission-critical systems. The conversation has shifted from “Can this work?” to “How fast can we scale it?”
What Happens When AI Can Build for You?
The deeper question facing the software industry is existential: What happens when AI can build the tools you once needed teams of developers to create?
If agents can design, test, and deploy systems with minimal human intervention, software development becomes less about writing code and more about defining outcomes. The competitive advantage may shift from engineering headcount to data quality, model performance, and strategic clarity.
Databricks’ latest funding round is not just a vote of confidence from investors. It is a signal that the infrastructure layer of the AI economy is maturing — and that enterprises are betting heavily on automation as the future of software creation.
As Databricks moves closer to going public, its numbers tell a story that extends well beyond its own valuation. They hint at a world where AI agents are not assistants on the sidelines, but builders at the center of the digital economy.
