3. Databricks

Founders: Ali Ghodsi (CEO), Matei Zaharia, Reynold Xin, Ion Stoica, Patrick Wendell, Andy Konwinski, Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji
Launched: 2013
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $20 billion
Valuation: $134 billion
Key Technologies: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, explainable AI, generative AI, machine learning, digital twins, low code/no code software
Industry: Enterprise technology
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 list: 6 (No. 3 in 2025)

Databricks has carved out an enviable position at the intersection of data, AI models and enterprise infrastructure, and it has turned that still-evolving business model into one of the most highly valued private tech companies in the world.

Now more accurately described as a major private company rather than as the software startup it once was, Databricks has over 20,000 customers across the business, nonprofit, and government markets, a customer list that includes Adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500.

The company's success and products like its Lakebase pose a threat to incumbents in the enterprise space, including Oracle. It also recently grew to be larger than primary public market competitor and former Disruptor Snowflake.

From teams of analysts and engineers to marketing and sales departments, Databricks allows companies to take proprietary data and build and scale AI apps and agents. Its recently launched Lakebase was constructed for a world where AI agents are already setting up 80% of databases. It also introduced Agent Bricks to help customers build AI agents that can reason, learn from feedback and execute complex workflows based on proprietary data. Its Genie tool allows any employee to "talk to their data," querying vast data sets and asking questions like, "Why did sales spike?" — visualizing findings with simple natural language prompts.

Most recently, the company moved into the cybersecurity market with the launch of Lakewatch.

In February, Databricks announced it had raised roughly $5 billion in equity funding at a $134 billion valuation, a figure that places the company among the ten most valuable private tech companies, alongside fellow 2026 Disruptors Anthropic, OpenAI, and Revolut. It also announced roughly $2 billion in additional debt capacity early this year.

Investors and bankers are betting on a continued path of growth for the company, which hit a $5.4 billion revenue run-rate for the January quarter, growing approximately 65% year-over-year, while delivering free cash flow over the past year. That included a revenue run rate over $1 billion from its data warehouse business and over $1.4 billion in the revenue run rate from its AI products.

Its continued success comes at a time when the market is worried about all companies in the enterprise market being disrupted by products from top AI companies including Anthropic and its Claude-powered software-building capabilities. Publicly traded software stocks have experienced steep losses this year, including Oracle, SAP and Snowflake.

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks, sees the company as part of the winning wave in the SaaS disruption, telling CNBC in March that "Databricks will definitely partake in that disruption."

He told CNBC's Jim Cramer on May 20 that the company remains in no rush to go public even as other AI firms and fellow top Disruptors, including OpenAI and Anthropic, race towards IPOs. "We don't burn any money at all, zero dollars," he said. "So for us, we can choose the timing," he added.

"I think this is a good year to be private because this is a year where you want to be building," Ghodsi said. "We're going through a huge transition in the markets, public and private, all enterprises. This AI revolution is happening, so it's better to build in private," he said. "We will go public, but I don't think this year is a good time for us."