Fueled by a substantial war chest, including a recently closed $5 billion funding round and billions in annual revenue, Databricks is actively expanding its portfolio through strategic acquisitions.
The company, renowned for its cloud data analytics platform, announced on Tuesday the launch of Lakewatch, an innovative new security product. Lakewatch leverages Databricks’ unparalleled ability to store vast quantities of data to perform traditional Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tasks, such as detecting and investigating threats, but critically, it does so with the assistance of AI agents powered by Anthropic’s Claude.
To underpin this new offering, Databricks acquired two startups: Antimatter, in a deal that closed last year and was previously undisclosed, and SiftD.ai, an acquisition that rapidly materialized and concluded on Monday, as the company informed TechCrunch.
The financial terms for both transactions were not disclosed. Antimatter, founded by security researcher Andrew Krioukov, had raised an estimated $12 million in 2022, led by New Enterprise Associates, according to Pitchbook. Pitchbook had no record of any funding raised by the nascent SiftD.ai.
SiftD.ai was a very young company, having only launched its product in November: an interactive notebook designed as a collaborative tool for humans and AI agents. The Databricks team was familiar with SiftD.ai’s co-founder and CEO, Steve Zhang, from his extensive tenure as chief scientist at Splunk until 2021, where he was instrumental in creating the Search Processing Language. Zhang also served as CTO of Astronomer, departing in 2023 before founding SiftD.ai.
Both acquisitions involved small startups; SiftD.ai reportedly comprised just a few individuals, while Antimatter had fewer than 50 employees, according to LinkedIn. SiftD.ai appears to be primarily an "acquihire." With Antimatter, Databricks likely also gained valuable intellectual property. Krioukov had previously demonstrated Antimatter’s technology, a "data control plane" tool enabling enterprises to securely deploy agents while protecting sensitive data, on stage at RSA’s Innovation Sandbox Contest in 2024.
While Databricks declined to specify the exact number of employees acquired, it confirmed that personnel from both startups have integrated into the company. Notably, Krioukov, who has been with Databricks for several months, is now leading the Lakewatch team.
When questioned about ongoing acquisition strategies, a Databricks spokesperson affirmed the company's continuous search for new opportunities. "We’re always looking to what’s next — our goal is to stay ahead of the market and close gaps in what our customers need," the spokesperson stated, indicating a sustained interest in future startup acquisitions.
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