Databricks Stock: Will Databricks IPO in 2025? (Maybe)

Explore opportunities to invest in Databricks stock before the upcoming IPO date. In December 2024, CEO Ali Ghodsi said a 2025 IPO is “still a possibility… that would be the earliest. But it could also very well happen the year after.” See a video of his statement below. 

All U.S.-based investors 18+ can own Databricks via the Fundrise Innovation Fund for a $10 minimum investment. The Fund recently acquired a $33 million stake in Databricks.

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Notable Databricks News

12/17/2024: CEO Ali Ghodsi Speaks with Axios’s Dan Primack
12/17/2024: His Startup Is Now Worth $62 Billion
12/17/2024: Databricks is Raising $10B Series J at $62B Valuation
12/13/2024: Databricks nears record $9.5 billion VC raise
Older news…

About Databricks

Databricks is a data science and artificial intelligence (A.I.) cloud and web-based software service. The company is on a mission to simplify and democratize data and A.I., helping data teams solve the world’s toughest problems.

Its primary product is a web-enabled Unified Data Platform that empowers data engineers at Fortune 500 companies to import massive amounts of data from existing sources, then compile the data to provide business intelligence. 

Databricks uses “data lakes” via the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to combine elements of data lakes and data warehouses to simplify enterprise data by eliminating the silos that historically complicate data and AI.

Understanding enterprise data optimizes operations and helps companies stay one step ahead of competitors. 

In terms of what this company actually does, most people aren’t going to understand. The main takeaway is that data analytics is an extraordinary long-term trend over the decades to come, positioning Databricks to ride the wave. 

Notably, the world’s biggest data companies use its products and have made private investments in the company (see next section).

The original creators of Apache Spark, an open-source data analytics engine for large-scale processing, founded Databricks. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. In 2022, it was named as a Forbes Cloud 100 leader alongside Lacework and the fintech leader Plaid. 

Here’s a brief video about how to investing in Databricks stock:

Ownership

Databricks shareholders include the founders, institutional investors (venture capital firms), and employees.

Databricks has raised at least $3.4 billion in private financing since its founding. Morgan Stanley led an August 2021 funding round, injecting at least $1.5 billion.

Other prominent investors include Fidelity, Microsoft, Amazon, CapitalG, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Blackrock, New Enterprise Associates, the ARK Venture Fund, and the Fundrise Innovation Fund and its pool of investors (including me). 

IPO Potential

The Databricks IPO date is currently unknown. It is widely regarded as a blockbuster upcoming tech IPO, but has disappointed IPO investors for several years. 

On December 17th, 2024, CEO Ali Ghodsi told Axios’s Dan Primack in an on-stage interview after a question about why it raised $10 billion privately instead of through an IPO:

It’s dumb to IPO this year [2024],so we’re definitely going to wait. The earliest theoretical possibility of an IPO would be next year [2025], and then there’s lock-up periods, so it would just be too long of a period for employees to get liquidity. 

[2025 is] still a possibility… that would be the earliest. But it could also very well happen the year after.

Here’s a video of the exchange:

Ghodsi said at the Newcomer’s Cerebral Valley AI Conference in November 2024:

If we were going to go the earliest would be, let’s say, mid-next year, or something like that. So, you know, could happen next year.

Not much conviction to his statements, though his tone in the Axios interview does suggest a 2025 or 2026 IPO is possible. 

Earlier, he told the Wall Street Journal on March 6th, 2024 regarding an IPO: 

We’re certainly ready as a company: The way we’re operating, the way we’re doing our audits, the way our financials are, the CFO, the board structure. So we’ll make a strategic decision whenever that time comes. The markets seem pretty shut. Databricks doesn’t have any special thing that we need to check the box on to be able to go public.

We may get clues, such as when Databricks selects a lead underwriter for the IPO or announces a confidential filing. Those types of announcements would indicate the IPO is within six to twelve months.

Even when the company and SEC publicly release the S-1 filing, we still won’t know a firm date. However, the IPO date typically occurs a month or so after the S-1 is released to the public.

Bookmark this page for the latest Databricks IPO news.

Funding Rounds

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Valuation

The latest confirmed Databricks valuation is $62 billion based on the latest funding round, a Series J, that raised $10 billion in December 2024. 

Private stock transaction data on the Hiive platform suggest the valuation had remained steady around the $40 billion level until this latest round. It’s one of the most active private stocks on the pre-IPO marketplace, and we should see prices rise in the secondary market into the new year. 

Four Ways to Invest in Databricks

Below, we’ll run through some scenarios to buy Databricks today and in the future. 

1. Own Databricks pre-IPO via the Fundrise Innovation Fund

The Fundrise Innovation Fund (review) initiated a $25 million investment in Databricks in July 2023. It increased the stake to $33 million by early 2024. The stock is now accessible to all U.S.-based investors for only a $10 minimum investment. Non-accredited investors are welcome. 

I’m an early investor in the Fund and wrote a detailed Fundrise Innovation Fund review that gives the details of how it works. I also maintain an active list of fund investments and update it anytime there’s a new holding. 

To own the Fundrise Innovation Fund, open and fund an account with Fundrise. New investors and non-accredited investors are welcome to invest, but you must open an account with the online platform to invest. 

However, you cannot select individual pre-IPO companies. But the fund is growing and acquiring high-quality startups (like Databricks) at a rapid pace. 

Please note: This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on AccessIPOs.com. All opinions are my own.

2. Buy Databricks shares directly pre-IPO

The Linqto* pre-IPO platform is selling Databricks shares to accredited investors as of 11/26/2024. However, the implied valuation is may not be reasonable for some investors. 

Linqto removes barriers to private markets and gives you access to invest in pre-IPO companies.

Monitor the platform for the latest availability. 

Founders, early employees, and investors are often in a difficult predicament. They own valuable shares or stock options of a company that doesn’t trade publicly. 

These shareholders might have multi-million dollar net worths because of their stock holdings, but the stock is not liquid because it doesn’t trade on an exchange. 

A few platforms have evolved to give these individuals a way to fund stock options or liquidate holdings before the IPO.

Prominent pre-IPO platforms include Hiive, Linqto, EquityZen, Equitybee, and Forge Global.

These sites bring liquidity to an otherwise illiquid asset. Accredited investors (those with invested assets > $1,000,000) may join these sites and attempt to buy these companies’ shares when they become available. 

The shares are only offered to accredited investors because the company’s financials are not publicly filed with regulators yet, increasing the investors’ risk. 

3. Participated the Databricks IPO through a broker

IPO access has become more attainable to retail investors in the past few years. 

The following online brokers give customers free access to IPOs, even with low account balances:

• TradeStation 
• Robinhood 

Brokers negotiate exclusive IPO share allocations to make available to retail investors.

Access to specific high-demand IPOs is usually limited by which brokerage accounts you have and what broker gets exclusive access. 

TradeStation has a longer track record of accessing more than 300 IPOs and secondary offerings via its partnership with ClickIPO. 

But Robinhood has the advantage of Silicon Valley networks and a history of getting allocations for high-profile IPOs.

Check out this list of best brokers for IPO investing to learn more about IPO access for retail investors.

4. Buy Databricks stock after the IPO

Since acquiring IPO shares is almost always challenging for individual investors, the easiest way to own Databricks stock is to wait for the IPO to complete. 

Realistically, unless your brokerage account is worth more than $1 million and your broker regularly receives IPO allocations, you are unlikely to get in on high-demand IPOs. 

Patient investors can sometimes buy the stock at or below the IPO price. 

Uber, which many predicted to rise steeply, actually fell on the IPO date.

Spending significant effort to acquire IPO shares may not be worth it in the end. You may also spend time and effort to obtain shares but only receive a small allocation, limiting upside gain. 

Though IPOs can provide one-day gains north of 20%, even up to 100% in rare cases (such as Airbnb and Doordash), the most significant gains will come during the decade following the IPO if the company is genuinely disruptive.

Take, for example, Netflix, Amazon, or Tesla. You could have bought the stock years after the IPO and still experienced gains of more than 1,000%

If you’re an investor who wants to buy Databricks stock for the long-term, consider opening a position after the IPO and averaging down if the stock falls. 

Short-term traders may angle to acquire IPO shares and hope for a short-term pop.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Databricks publicly traded?

No. Databricks is not publicly traded, it is privately owned. 

Can you invest in Databricks stock today? 

Yes. Retail investors can access Databricks shares via venture capital funds and pre-IPO investing platforms.

Venture capital funds mentioned in this article do not have an accreditation requirement. Pre-IPO investing platforms typically do. 

What is the Databricks stock price?

Since Databricks is not traded on a stock exchange, there is no public Databricks stock price yet.

However, March 2024 private transactions indicate shares traded in the range of $59-$75 per share, according to data provided by the pre-IPO marketplace Hiive. 

The company and its underwriters won’t publicize an estimated IPO price range until after the initial S-1 filing is made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

What is the Databricks ticker symbol?

Databricks has not yet submitted public filings to the SEC. Therefore, it is not yet known what the Databricks stock symbol will be. We can only speculate.

Here are two possibilities that appear to be available in the U.S.:

• DATA
• BRCK

Where is the Databricks S-1 filing?

The Databricks S-1 filing won’t be publicly available until released. Once it is public, we’ll post it here. 
You can find a real-time SEC feed of the latest IPO filings from other companies on the recent S-1 filings page.

News Archive

11/26/2024: Databricks closes in on up to $8 bln round at $55 bln valuation
11/26/2024: Databricks closing in on $5 billion round at a $55 billion valuation
11/13/2024: Thrive Capital in Talks to Invest $1 Billion in Databricks
11/12/2024: Databricks Raising Cash to Resolve Employee Squeeze
10/15/2024: AMZN, Databricks Strike Five-Year Deal Around AI Chips
06/12/2024: Databricks annualized revenue will reach $2.4 billion this year
06/04/2024: Databricks acquires startup Tabular
03/27/2024: Introducing DBRX: Databrick’s LLM
03/22/2024: Nancy Pelosi Discloses Databricks Investment
03/14/2024: Databricks Partners with and Invests in Mistral AI
03/06/2024: WSJ: Record Sales at Databricks. An IPO Can Wait.
01/17/2024: Databricks Preps Employee Stock Sale
10/23/2023: Databricks acquires Arcion for $100 million
09/14/2023: Databricks raises $500M more, valuation to $43B
08/25/2023: Databricks in Talks to Raise Funds at a $43 B Valuation
08/17/2023: Microsoft Plans A.I. Service With Databricks
08/16/2023: Databricks in Talks to Raise More Cash
06/26/2023: Databricks Acquires MosaicML (ARK Venture holding)
06/14/2023: Databricks Says Annual Revenue Jumped 60% to Top $1 B
05/03/2023: Databricks acquires AI-centric governance platform Okera
04/12/2023: Databricks releases Dolly 2.0 A.I. LLM
03/24/2023: Databricks pushes new A.I. chatbot as ChatGPT alternative
03/02/2023: Databricks riding the A.I. boom
10/20/2022: Databricks is Trimming Valuation While Others Are Slashing
08/05/2022: Databricks Says It Has Surpassed $1 Billion in Annualized Rev
06/16/2022: Databricks Pushes Ahead With Hiring Spree to Add 2,500 Workers This Year
06/06/2022: Rethinking Databricks’ valuation in a more conservative startup market
05/17/2022: Databricks Ranked #34 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List
02/17/2022: As Databricks reaches $800M ARR, a fresh look at its last private valuation
01/26/2022: Snowflake vs. Databricks: How Onetime Friends Became Fierce Cloud Rivals
12/09/2021: Databricks Creates Its Own Venture Fund
11/02/2021: Databricks Sets Official Data Warehousing Performance Record
10/06/2021: $38 billion software startup Databricks makes acquisition to leave code behind
09/04/2021: Flush with billions, Databricks has momentum and big plans
08/31/2021: Confirmed: Databricks raises $1.6B at $38B valuation as it blasts past $600M ARR
08/18/2021: Databricks Valuation Jumps to $38 Billion in Funding Deal
05/21/2021: Databricks is on track for $1 billion in revenue in 2022
02/17/2021: Databricks adds support for Google Cloud as it prepares to go public
02/01/2021: UiPath and Databricks set the stage for direct listings with huge funding rounds
02/01/2021: Amazon, Alphabet, and Salesforce are all investing in a $28 billion company that crunches big data
10/23/2020: Microsoft-backed Databricks Plans IPO Next Year

Conclusion

Databricks is one of the largest private companies in the world. Hype around the IPO for such a large company can get retail investors excited to own the stock. 

Often, companies like Databricks are not accessible to retail investors pre-IPO because of restrictions on venture capital investment access. 

Databricks is a rare, but increasingly more common example of how ordinary investors can own innovative startups before Wall Street. 

Investors who wish to own Databricks stock before the Databricks IPO can do so for a minimum investment of $10 through the Fundrise Innovation Fund.

This is extraordinary access that is hopefully a more common circumstance at the Fund builds its portfolio holdings. 

Be cautious if investing in pre-IPO startups and be sure to validate the investment strategy is suitable for your risk tolerance and investment objectives.