Enterprise technology tends to create a new platform layer that becomes essential to operations. Mainframes had operating systems. The internet era had databases and middleware. The AI era demands something different: a unified data and intelligence platform that can govern, process, and learn from an entire organization's information estate. ARK believes Databricks is building that platform. A few numbers that stand out: • $2.6B in fiscal year 2025 revenue • By early 2026, $5.4B+ annual revenue run-rate, with 65%+ year-over-year growth • Net revenue retention above 140%, compared to Snowflake's 126%, meaning existing customers expand dramatically • 800 customers spending over $1M annually, 70 spending over $10M • Structured Query Language (SQL) business alone targeting $1B run-rate; AI product portfolio already there We believe the architecture is the competitive moat. Databricks' "lakehouse" architecture collapses historically separate systems, data warehouses, data lakes, and machine learning (ML) environments, into one open platform. As enterprises move from AI experimentation to production-grade deployment, the platform governing the underlying data captures disproportionate value. Open-source gravity around Delta Lake and MLflow anchors developer workflows in Databricks-originated standards, extending its relevance beyond any single product cycle. The consumption flywheel is already turning. More workloads. More governed datasets. More inference. More value. Read ARK’s full Investment Thesis ⬇️