Databricks acquires data optimization startup Tabular in fresh challenge to Snowflake
Data analytics software maker Databricks said in a statement on Tuesday that it's acquiring Tabular, a startup that helps optimize data stored in the cloud.
The gesture could help Databricks more quickly bring out products as it faces competition from Snowflake and other entities.
Databricks is paying over $1 billion to buy Tabular, Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi said in an interview. The Wall Street Journal reported the size of the deal earlier on Tuesday. Snowflake was also bidding on Tabular, as was Confluent , a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. Snowflake declined to comment. Confluent did not respond to a request for comment.
Billions in venture capital have helped Databricks finance this and other recent deals, including the acquisitions of database replication startup Arcion and artificial intelligence efficiency startup MosaicML for $100 million and $1.3 billion, respectively. In September, Databricks said it had raised new funding at a $43 billion valuation, making it worth more than most startups and some publicly held enterprise software sellers.
The costs of running queries before exploring and making charts with data can add up. Developers built an open-source format called Apache Iceberg that stores data in tables that a variety of tools can then work with.
