Databricks buys AI evaluation startup Quotient founded by Romanian Iulia Neagu
Romanian Iulia Neagu, a PhD in physics at Harvard, sold the artificial intelligence startup Quotient to the American, Romanian-founded data giant Databricks. The two companies aim to improve the way AI agents are used in production environments, are evaluated, and optimized.
The startup was launched in 2023 to create systems capable of measuring and improving the performance of artificial intelligence in real applications. The company started with a small team in Boston, collaborated with startups specialized in AI, but also with companies from the Fortune 500 top to monitor intelligent agents used in production.
Quotient’s technology analyzes the complete path of an AI agent’s decisions in production and automatically detects problems such as incorrect use of tools or erroneous conclusions. This information is transformed into evaluation datasets and reward signals that can be used to train and improve AI systems. Through this approach, companies not only monitor the behavior of AI agents but can transform them into systems that continuously learn from real use and become increasingly specialized.
Iulia Neagu, 36, studied theoretical physics and artificial intelligence in Europe and the United States. After obtaining a PhD in physics at Harvard, she worked in research and in the development of large-scale artificial intelligence systems, being involved in projects for the evaluation and optimization of AI models. The Quotient team includes engineers who previously worked on improving the quality of the GitHub Copilot system, one of the most widely used AI tools for programmers.
“Freddie Vargus and I started Quotient AI in 2023 with a dream and a hunch that the next era of AI will be unlocked by systems that can measure, evaluate, and improve AI in the real world. Joining Databricks gives us the scale and resources to take this much, much further,” said Iulia Neagu on LinkedIn.
By integrating Quotient technology, Databricks announced that it is strengthening several products based on AI agents, including Genie, Genie Code, and Agent Bricks. These tools are designed to help companies build, manage, and improve intelligent agents that can analyze data, automate processes, and support business decisions.
Among the founders of Databricks are two computer scientists of Romanian origin, Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia. They are among the richest Romanians, according to the Forbes 2026 list..
(Photo source: Julia Neagu on LinkedIn)
