Databricks is proof that strong unicorns can grow their way out of a market correction

Databricks recently revealed that it recorded revenue of more than $1 billion in the financial year ended January 31. The company also said it grew more than 60% last year and its data warehousing product crossed the $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) threshold in April.

Databricks has always grown quickly, so it’s not surprising to hear that it has surpassed new revenue milestones, but these numbers are impressive even though we’ve been tracking this company for a while.

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Databricks reached ARR of $600 million when it raised a massive round in August 2021, reached $800 million in ARR at the end of 2021, and last August, crossed the $1 billion ARR threshold. However, as ARR is more of a forward-looking metric, the fact that Databricks managed to generate a full billion dollars in revenue is indeed a feat.

Today, we’re nearly half-a-year behind the company’s actual growth curve. Since Databricks saw revenue of $1 billion last year, it must have closed the year with higher ARR, and it has grown for nearly two quarters since then. It’s not easy to nail down how much revenue the company would be making today, but that’s not going to stop us from having a little fun with big numbers.

Databricks has been in the news lately for other reasons as well. Last month, it acquired Okera, a data governance platform with a focus on AI, and Bloomberg recently reported it bought Rubicon, a startup focused on data storage for AI-related work. Given that Databricks deals with corporate data, it makes sense that it is working with AI-related data services — in fact, the company open-sourced its own LLM in April.

But that’s all related to product. Today, we’re just talking about revenue, growth and how close Databricks is to harmonizing its private-market worth with what the public markets might afford it. Spoiler: The fact that it is deep in the AI trenches is not going to hurt its path to an eventual IPO, even if CEO Ali Ghodsi is in no hurry to go public.

The path to $1 billion

Rewinding through all our Databricks financial coverage takes a moment, but it’s worth our time. Here’s a rundown of what we have learned through time: