Databricks (Pre IPO) Primer and a Requiem for Hadoop

Welcome to Tidal Wave, an investment and research newsletter about software, internet, and media businesses. Please subscribe so I can meet Matt Levine one day. Given this is an investment-focused post, a quick disclaimer: this is not investment advice, and the author may hold positions in the securities discussed. Databricks has been rumored to go public in 2023 and is one of the few software companies that can likely justify a premium to their last round valuation ($38B) even with the current valuation climate. The company provides a platform that helps companies manage their data, machine learning (“ML”), and artificial intelligence (“AI”) applications. Given the backdrop and investor enthusiasm (obsession) with AI and ML, the timing probably could not be more fortuitous. A lot of organizations and companies will glom onto the AI and ML theme this year, but Databricks was a company that was purpose-built for managing big data and actualizing the promise of ML. The company’s recent e

Welcome to Tidal Wave, an investment and research newsletter about software, internet, and media businesses. Please subscribe so I can meet Matt Levine one day. Given this is an investment-focused post, a quick disclaimer: this is not investment advice, and the author may hold positions in the securities discussed. Databricks has been rumored to go public in 2023 and is one of the few software companies that can likely justify a premium to their last round valuation ($38B) even with the current valuation climate. The company provides a platform that helps companies manage their data, machine l