Keep pulling the thread on Ben Horowitz, Ali Ghodsi.
Databricks' biggest early competitive challenge was the free availability of its own open-source project, Apache Spark, which was also offered by cloud vendors like Amazon.
A major strategic pivot for Databricks was the decision to build its own data warehouse product to compete more effectively.
Microsoft's distribution channel, which includes 60,000 sellers, was identified as a critical potential partnership for Databricks to achieve scale.
The strategic partnership between Databricks and Microsoft was initiated through a direct conversation between Ben Horowitz and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
A key factor enabling the Databricks-Microsoft partnership was Microsoft's dissatisfaction with its existing partner, Hortonworks, which was pressuring Microsoft for better terms.
The Databricks-Microsoft deal was successful because it filled a product portfolio gap for Microsoft in its competition with AWS, while Databricks gained access to Microsoft's distribution channel.
Ben Horowitz states that under Satya Nadella's leadership, Microsoft has become an exceptionally good partner, a significant change from the Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer eras.
Ben Horowitz once told Ali Ghodsi that Databricks is the "Oracle in the cloud" and predicted it would eventually be worth 10 times Oracle's valuation.
In response to talent competition from "FAANG" companies, Databricks shifted its salary bands to pay at the 95th percentile for engineering roles.
In 2019, when Databricks was valued at $6 billion, Ben Horowitz predicted it would become a $100 billion company.
Databricks once received an acquisition offer that was six times its current valuation at the time.
Databricks' Series C funding round was nearly derailed when prospective lead investor Redpoint Ventures backed out of a handshake deal, forcing existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and NEA to co-lead the round.