Databricks expands Microsoft Azure partnership, to use more custom chips

Databricks said on Thursday it would expand its partnership with Microsoft through the 2030s, a deal under which it will increase its use of the Azure platform and Microsoft's custom chips.

Databricks offers a platform that helps users ‌ingest, ⁠analyse and ⁠build AI applications using complex data from various sources.

One of the most valuable private companies, the San Francisco-based firm's move marks a sizeable win for Microsoft's Azure cloud business and comes as enterprise AI adoption accelerates.


Databricks ​said it would increase Azure ⁠usage to ‌run its own core business operations ​and analytics, ​and also boost its usage of ⁠Azure Cobalt, Microsoft's Arm-based custom processors, for data-intensive ​and agentic AI workloads.

Under the partnership, Microsoft will also continue integrating Databricks' AI capabilities across its products, including Databricks' conversational analytics tool Genie, to strengthen enterprise AI offerings.

"With Databricks deepening its investment in Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt-powered infrastructure, ‌customers will benefit from greater performance, efficiency, and scale for their most demanding ​workloads," said ​Judson Althoff, CEO ⁠of Microsoft's Commercial Business.

Databricks said last week it had signed off on a funding round that values the firm at $188 billion, with the round expected to close later this summer. The company's platform is used by over 20,000 organizations globally, including 70% of the Fortune 500 companies.