Chris Huskey (Partner, Octahedron Capital) - A Databricks Deep Dive

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.

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