How to invest in Databricks pre-IPO

While generative AI can create a limerick in the style of Shakespeare or an image of a cat on Mars, most businesses and investors aren't focused on these quirky applications of the technology. Instead, they want to see down-to-Earth AI use cases, like improving operational efficiency to cut costs, generating sales ideas to grow revenue and streamlining compliance reporting.

One company that's been riding the AI wave, while rooted in practical applications like the aforementioned, is Databricks.

Yet rather than offering AI analytics tools, Databricks more so provides the foundation for organizations to store, manage and assess their data, including by building, testing and deploying AI models within the software.

Thanks largely to AI demand, Databricks has seen over 80% year-over-year growth and crossed a $7 billion revenue run-rate in Q2 2026.³ The company also reached positive free cash flow over the past 12 months through Q4.⁴

Amidst this growth, Databricks has raised huge funding rounds, including its Series L-2 in August 2026, which raised $5 billion at a $190 billion valuation. This followed Databricks’ Series L in Feb. 2026, which also raised $5 billion in equity financing at a $134 billion valuation.⁵ It also raised over $1 billion for its Series K in Sept. 2025 and over $10 billion for its Series J at the end of 2024, funding investment in building out AI capabilities along with providing liquidity to current and former employees.⁶

With employees having some liquidity pathways, investors may be interested in buying Databricks shares pre-IPO. And while Databricks has long been rumored as an IPO candidate, it remains private for the time being. In June 2026, CEO Ali Ghodsi told Bloomberg that is a "terrible" year to list, given a crowded IPO calendar, with big names like SpaceX going public.⁷ So, interested investors might look to buy pre-IPO Databricks stock for now. While most pre-IPO investing is limited to accredited investors, retail investors may also be able to gain some exposure to Databricks through other assets, as we'll examine in this guide.

Databricks: Company background

Databricks, based in San Francisco, started in 2013 with a platform built on top of Apache Spark, with the goal of streamlining Big Data analysis. Most of the company's seven co-founders have backgrounds as the original architects of Apache Spark, along with pioneering the lakehouse architecture that Databricks is known for, which combines elements of data lakes and data warehouses.⁸

Today, the company has expanded its focus to also include more unified areas of data management and analytics, such as by offering data storage solutions and making it accessible for users to develop and run AI models within the platform.⁸

Early investors included Andreessen Horowitz, which led its Series A, followed by others such as New Enterprise Associates, Australia Future Fund, In-Q-Tel and Sinewave Ventures. Later, large asset managers such as T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley joined in, along with tech companies such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Nvidia as well as other major investors like Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.⁸

Databricks has also made notable acquisitions, including buying MosaicML in 2023 to help expand generative AI access,⁹ as well as buying data management company Tabular in 2024, in a move that seemingly preempted rival Snowflake from acquiring that business.¹⁰ In 2025, Databricks also acquired Neon, a serverless database company, to support agentic AI database provisioning.¹¹ In June 2026, Databricks announced its intent to buy Panther, an AI security operations center (AI SOC) platform as Databricks moves more into AI-powered security, too.¹²

Databricks stock and funding history

Databricks has had 13 primary funding rounds, starting with its Series A in 2013, raising $14 million at a price per share of $0.26. The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, valued Databricks at $48.68 million.⁵

In 2014, its stock price more than quadrupled to $1.12, in a Series B led by New Enterprise Associates.⁵ That round raised around $34 million at a valuation of around $250 million.⁵

In 2016, the Databricks Series C took the stock price to $1.97,⁵ with the round again led by New Enterprise Associates,¹³ followed by a Series D led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2017 that brought the stock price to $2.79,⁵ implying a valuation of nearly $1 billion.¹⁴

In 2019, Databricks' stock price more than doubled to $7.10,⁵ with this Series E round again led by Andreessen Horowitz but also including investors such as Microsoft and Coatue Management.¹⁵ Later that year, the company's stock price again more than doubled to $14.32 with a Series F,⁵ once more led by Andreessen Horowitz but also bringing in large asset managers such as BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Tiger Global Management.¹⁶

The company then took a huge leap forward by raising over $1 billion for its Series G in 2021, led by Franklin Templeton,¹⁷ valuing Databricks at $28 billion and a $59.12 stock price.⁵ Later that year, the Databricks Series H raised $1.63 billion, bringing the stock price to $73.484 in a round led by Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global.¹⁸

In 2023, Databricks raised nearly $685 million for its Series I, and while the valuation climbed to over $43 billion, the Databricks stock price stayed almost the same at $73.50.⁵ This round was led by T. Rowe Price, with investors such as Capital One Ventures, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Nvidia also participating.¹⁹

At the end of 2024, Databricks raised over $10 billion for its Series J at a stock price, implying approximately a $62 billion valuation.⁵ This round was led by Thrive Capital and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, GIC, Insight Partners and WCM Investment Management.⁶

In September 2025, Databricks raised $1.18 billion for its Series K, bringing its stock price to $150.00 and its valuation to $100 billion,⁵ in a round co-led by co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Insight Partners, MGX, Thrive Capital, and WCM Investment Management.²⁰

In February 2026, Databricks raised $5 billion for its Series L, which implied a stock price of $190.00 and a $134 billion valuation.⁵ This round also included about $2 billion in debt financing, on top of the $5 billion in equity financing, with the round led by Insight Partners, Fidelity and J.P. Morgan Asset Management.⁴

Most recently, in August 2026, Databricks raised another $5 billion for its Series L-2, bringing its stock price to $262.31 and valuation to $190 billion.⁴ This round was led by Coatue, with investors such as Blackstone, MGX, T. Rowe Price and Sixth Street Growth also participating.³

Databricks' Forge Price currently sits at $264.90, which is slightly above its last primary funding round price and implies a $191.88 billion valuation.¹

Forge Price is a derived data point that reflects the up-to-date price performance of venture-backed, late-stage companies, and is calculated based on a proprietary model incorporating pricing inputs from primary funding round information, secondary market transactions and indications of interest (IOIs) on Forge.

Is Databricks going to IPO?

While Databricks has not formally filed for an initial public offering (IPO), several milestones suggest the company may be positioning itself for a public debut. Databricks has reported significant revenue growth, crossing a $7 billion revenue run-rate, and maintaining positive adjusted free cash flow.³ Its late-stage funding rounds have also been structured in ways that often precede a public offering, according to Forbes reporting on the company's trajectory.²¹ CEO Ghodsi has also said that Databricks will eventually go public. However, the timing remains unknown. In June 2026, Ghodsi said that this would be a "terrible" year to go public, amidst competition for capital with big names like SpaceX IPOing.⁶ So, it seems like Databricks is waiting for a more opportune time to conduct its own IPO.

For current pre-IPO shareholders, an IPO would provide a formal liquidity event, though lock-up periods typically apply after a public listing. Prospective investors continue to monitor Databricks' financial performance and broader market conditions to gauge the timing of a potential public debut.

Image displayed reflects sample of active opportunities available on Forge marketplace as of 1/7/2026. Actual securities or bid/ask volume may vary at any time. Listed bids/asks are non-binding.

Who can invest in Databricks pre-IPO?

As with any private company, investment in Databricks is generally limited to institutional investors or high-net-worth individuals who are invited to participate in the company's primary funding rounds. Accredited investors might also be able to find Databricks shares for sale on a secondary marketplace such as Forge, but that is contingent on existing shareholders choosing or being able to list their Databricks stock for sale.

That said, Databricks' intention to eventually go public means that more investors, not just accredited ones, will likely be able to invest in Databricks in the future, just not necessarily in the pre-IPO stage.

How to buy Databricks stock

Since Databricks has decided to remain a private company for now, stock is relatively limited, though accredited investors may be able to access pre-IPO shares through a secondary marketplace such as Forge, subject to availability.

Some of Databricks' recent funding has been meant in part to provide liquidity to employees, which could potentially reduce instances of current or former employees selling shares within a private marketplace. However, if there's enough demand for Databricks pre-IPO stock through private marketplaces, it's possible that Databricks decides to let employees cash out that way, while using more capital from its primary funding rounds for internal investment in areas like AI development.

Existing shareholders would need to decide — and be allowed —to list their shares for sale on a private marketplace in order for more accredited investors to buy Databricks pre-IPO shares, so availability may be limited or not be available at all. Those who are interested in investing in Databricks pre-IPO may wish to create an account with Forge's marketplace to stay informed about whether Databricks shares become available.

Interested investors might also look at other related private companies that could have shares available on a private marketplace like Forge.

For example, SambaNova Systems provides a holistic AI platform across hardware, software and AI models, which could be somewhat complementary to Databricks' business. Another popular AI unicorn is Dataminr, which focuses on risk detection. While it doesn't have a ton of direct overlap with Databricks, there could be some competition in terms of whether companies want to buy Dataminr's system vs. build their own tools via Databricks.

Investors also might consider SandboxAQ, which uses large quantitative models (LQMs) instead of large language models (LLMs) to try to tackle problems in scientific contexts like healthcare and cybersecurity. There could be some competition in terms of companies using LLMs via Databricks or SandboxAQ's LQMs.

DataRobot is another popular AI platform offering more of an off-the-shelf solution for running predictive models, whereas Databricks is generally more customizable and flexible. Lastly, shares of a company like ThoughtSpot, an AI-powered business intelligence tool with a similar buy-versus-build dynamic to Databricks, may appeal to investors seeking exposure to that segment.

Registered investors with a verified profile may also explore Forge's active opportunities for companies similar to Databricks in the Data Intelligence sector.

Alternatives for unaccredited investors who want to buy Databricks stock

While retail investors may not be able to buy Databricks stock directly the way that accredited investors might, it's possible to still get some exposure to Databricks or similar companies through publicly traded stocks and funds.

For example, the Fidelity Select Technology Portfolio mutual fund holds an allocation to Databricks stock across several primary funding rounds. However, less than 0.5% of the mutual fund's assets are invested in Databricks, so this exposure is small.²²

That said, this fund holds many other AI names, including some other private companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, so if you have conviction in the broader space, you might invest in this or similar retail funds.

Many tech ETFs or mutual funds, including this Fidelity fund, also hold large allocations of Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon stock. Considering that these tech companies are also investors in Databricks, you might decide to invest in these types of tech funds in order to potentially benefit from the same AI trend. Or you might invest directly in companies like Nvidia, Microsoft or Amazon, considering these are all publicly traded companies.

Still, that only provides partial exposure to Databricks. Another option is to invest in Databricks' main competitor, Snowflake,¹⁰ which is publicly traded. In some sense, this provides more comparable exposure to Databricks if you're trying to bet on a sector trend, but at the same time, it's possible that Snowflake's stock performance lags or leads Databricks' performance based on whether one takes market share from the other.

How to analyze Databricks stock

Because private companies do not disclose their financials in the same way that public companies do, stock analysis can be more difficult for the average investor. Still, investors might use the information that is public, such as Databricks' $5.4 billion-plus annual revenue run-rate,³ and see how its valuation multiple compares to similar private tech companies using Forge Data.

Public company competitors such as Snowflake or Cloudera might also provide somewhat of a benchmark, but private company data is much more limited, so it's hard to say for sure how to value Databricks. Investment in any private company typically carries additional risk compared to publicly traded companies due to limited liquidity, and that risk arguably needs to be accounted for in the valuation.

Potential risks of investing in pre-IPO Databricks stock

Investing in private companies like Databricks involves risks that differ from public market investing. Here are some key considerations for prospective investors.

• Competition and market dynamics. Databricks competes with several tech companies like Snowflake and Cloudera, along with giants like Amazon, Google and Microsoft to varying degrees. Plus, the AI market as a whole is evolving rapidly. These competitors and new ways of working with and investing in AI-related companies could affect Databricks' growth and market share over time.
• Valuation and investor expectations. Databricks' rapidly growing valuation, potentially approaching $200 billion, represents a significant premium relative to its disclosed revenue figures. If growth slows or market conditions shift, future valuations may not meet current expectations.
• Revenue sustainability. While Databricks has seen significant year over year revenue growth, up 65% through Q4 2025, sustaining this growth rate long-term is uncertain.
• Limited liquidity. Private company shares are less liquid than public stocks. Selling shares may take longer and depends on finding a willing buyer, subject to transfer restrictions and other limitations, compared to the more streamlined process of public company trading.
• Reduced transparency. Private companies are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as public companies, which can make it harder to assess financial health and performance on an ongoing basis.
• Potential loss of capital. As with any investment, there is no guarantee of returns. Investors could lose some or all of their invested capital.

Learn more about investing in Databricks stock on Forge

If you are interested in investing in Databricks before a potential IPO if/when shares become available, you may open a free Forge account. Once your account is active and your accreditation is verified, you may gain access to real-time private market data, context-rich insights and a marketplace built for self-directed investors. Not sure where to begin? You may read our buyer's guide to investing in private market shares. And if questions come up along the way, Forge's experienced specialists are available to support you.