Databricks Buy Gives it In-House Onboarding

US-based big data and AI solutions firm Databricks has acquired data replication specialist Arcion for just over $100m. The buy will give Databricks its own solution for pulling client data from other applications into its Lakehouse platform, rather than relying on third parties.

Lakehouse combines data, analytics and AI/machine learning to help clients govern, manage and derive insights from enterprise data and build their own generative AI solutions. A month ago the firm announced Series I funding of more than $500m, valuing it at a whopping $43bn. Databricks was already an investor in Arcion via its Databricks Ventures unit.

The company says a vast amount of companies' data still sits in transactional databases such as Oracle, MySQL and Postgres, and also in SaaS applications such as Salesforce, SAP and Workday; and cites a recent MIT Technology Review Insights and Databricks survey of senior data and technology executives which suggests that more than 80% of the largest companies have data in ten or more systems.

Arcion offers connectors for more than twenty enterprise databases and data warehouses, and once integrated will simplify ingestion of this data either continuously or on-demand into the lakehouse, 'fully integrated with the enterprise security, governance, and compliance capabilities of the Databricks platform'.

Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi comments: 'To build analytical dashboards, data applications, and AI models, data needs to be replicated from the systems of record like CRM, ERP and enterprise apps to the Lakehouse. Arcion's highly reliable and easy-to-use solution will enable our customers to make that data available almost instantly for faster and more informed decision-making'. Gary Hagmueller, CEO of Arcion adds: 'Databricks has been a great partner and investor in Arcion, and we are very excited to join forces to help companies simplify and accelerate their data and AI business momentum'.

Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and web site at www.databricks.com , while Arcion is at www.arcion.io .