Romanian-founded data company Databricks launches accelerator for AI startups

Databricks, an artificial intelligence company based in the United States with two Romanians among its founders, is launching an accelerator to finance artificial intelligence startups. Up to USD 250,000 is available for small companies.

The funds can come in several forms, including cash, credits for using the Databricks platform, and credits from external providers verified through the company, according to the press release.

The program is part of Databricks Ventures, the venture capital division launched in 2021, which has already invested in startups, including the artificial intelligence search engine Perplexity and the enterprise artificial intelligence assistant startup Glean.

With the new accelerator, Databricks wants to go beyond standard venture capital, offering companies mentorship from its executives and helping them grow, in some cases even before the startup launches a product.

“We can do this much better than traditional venture capital can,” said CEO Ali Ghodsi for Forbes. “The venture capital investor doesn’t have 20,000 customers,” he continued, adding that Databricks could use its customer relationships and operational expertise to help young companies enter the market.

Portfolio companies will also have access to Databricks’ venture capital network, including Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, General Catalyst, NEA, and Menlo Ventures. These introductions will be useful when portfolio companies want to raise Series A funding and beyond, Ghodsi said.

The announcement came a week after Databricks announced a USD 1 billion Series K fundraising round, reaching a USD 100 billion valuation.

Among Databricks’ co-founders are the company’s CEO, Ali Ghodsi, as well as two computer scientists of Romanian origin, Ion Stoica (executive chairman of the company) and Matei Zaharia (chief technologist). The company, which develops software for databases, has raised nearly USD 20 billion in total since its founding in 2013.

(Photo source: Timon Schneider | Dreamstime.com)