One of the most exciting private companies today is Databricks, growing over 50% at $1.5B ARR with a recent valuation of $43B announced in September 2023. This is the deep dive you’ve been waiting for to understand the product, growth, and competitive landscape.
Chris Huskey is a Partner at Octahedron Capital, a hedge fund that invests in public and private markets. Databricks is a large position in Octahedron’s portfolio. In this episode, we cover every aspect of Databricks. The origin story, culture & ethos of the company, TAM expansion, platform components, competitive dynamics, financial metrics, and the future ahead for the company.
Where to Find Chris:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuskey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishuskey
Where to Find Shomik:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/
Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com
Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube
In this episode, we cover:
(00:36) - Databricks Founding Story
(03:47) - What is Databricks Product
(07:13) - Financial Metrics
(08:33) - What is Apache Spark
(11:38) - Who are the Personas & Users of the Product
(14:11) - Enterprise Use Cases
(15:48) - The Rise of the Lakehouse Architecture
(17:27) - Breaking Down the Platform’s Components
(20:23) - Phase Shifts in Market Demand for Databricks Products
(22:15) - TAM Analysis
(26:04) - Competitive Landscape
(38:32) - GTM & Pricing Model
(41:48) - LLMs as a Tailwind
(48:49) - Cash Flow Dynamics
(52:20) - Risks & Software Velocity as the Mitigator
(57:24) - LLM Infrastructure
Show Notes:
Databricks Series A Pitch Deck: https://bestpitchdeck.com/databricks-series-a
Databricks Series D Pitch Deck: https://bestpitchdeck.com/databricks-series-d
Octahedron Capital’s: A Few Things We Learned This Quarter (highly recommend subscribing!)
How to Subscribe:
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Chris Huskey (Partner, Octahedron Capital) - A Databricks Deep Dive