The Origins and Evolution of Databricks and Spark Technology

This is Zack Fuss. Today I am joined by Yanev Suissa, Managing Partner at SineWave Ventures, to break down the private company Databricks. Born out of a UC Berkeley research lab in 2013, Databricks has grown rapidly, and after 50% growth this summer, it was rumored to have last raised at a $43 billion valuation.

In the most simple terms, Databricks provides tools for ingesting, transforming, and analyzing large sets of data from multiple sources in multiple formats in order to inform business and engineering decisions. Databricks is on a crash course with Snowflake to amass market share. In this conversation, we explore the nuances of structured and unstructured data, discuss data lakes, and what it entails to get "Hadooped." Please enjoy this breakdown of Databricks. 

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Show Notes:

(00:02:32) - (First Question) - What Databricks is and why it is so successful 

(00:04:38) - Real world examples of how customers use Databricks 

(00:07:23) - How issues were handled historically before Databricks was available 

(00:08:39) - Key examples of what helped accelerate Databricks’ success 

(00:10:52) - Databricks revenue model and how it converts into bottomline  

(00:12:13) - How Databricks competes with competitors like Snowflake 

(00:14:11) - Competition versus symbiosis when compared to large organizations 

(00:14:11) - The overall size of Databricks as a business

(00:18:09) - Costs incurred when using a database service like Databricks

(00:19:47) - The founding story of Databricks 

(00:22:53) - When SineWave recognized the database's potential 

(00:24:29) - The importance of partnerships and how they help grow the business 

(00:27:07) - Legacy solutions that they are disintermediating or replacing in their growth  

(00:27:57) - What being Hadoop’d means 

(00:21:50) - A breakdown of the complexity behind switching to different database providers 

(00:32:07) - The success of these businesses breaking into legacy regulated industries 

(00:34:47) - Why AI is so impactful to the database 

(00:37:40) - How AI is helping these businesses go to market with their software 

(00:39:50) - Democratization of data access and businesses taking the opposite approach 

(00:43:00) - Key reasons for investing in Databricks and potential risks to be considered  

(00:46:12) - Lessons learned from studying Databricks