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Databricks Raises $1.8B Pre-IPO🧱|Snowflake and Databricks growth limits 🚧|ClickHouse Raises $400M⚡

Also, Communication as a Data Practitioner (more career advice)

Author

Gladstone Benjamin
January 26, 2026

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Also, check out the weekly Deep Dive - Communication skills for Data Pros

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DATABRICKS

TL;DR: Databricks raised $1.8 billion in debt to prepare for its IPO, aiming to fund innovation, global growth, and strengthen competition while leveraging AI and data analytics market trends.

  • Databricks secured a $1.8 billion debt financing round to boost its IPO preparations and financial flexibility.

  • The debt funding will support global expansion, product innovation, and strengthen competition against Snowflake and Palantir.

  • This large debt raise signals investor confidence and reflects a trend of balancing equity and debt before public offerings.

  • Databricks aims to capitalize on market demand for AI and data analytics to cement its leadership in big data.

Why this matters: Databricks’ $1.8 billion debt raise signals strong investor confidence and strategic financial positioning ahead of its IPO, enabling accelerated innovation and global expansion. This move reflects evolving capital strategies in tech and underscores Databricks’ pivotal role in AI-driven data analytics amid fierce market competition.

SNOWFLAKE

TL;DR: Databricks and Snowflake face growth limits due to vendor lock-in and technical constraints, prompting demand for open, integrated platforms that enhance collaboration and support complex AI and real-time data workloads.

  • Databricks and Snowflake, leaders in data platforms, are now hitting growth and functionality ceilings.

  • Challenges include vendor lock-in, limited interoperability, and struggles with real-time data and complex AI workloads.

  • Future success requires open, integrated systems fostering collaboration across data engineering, analytics, and machine learning.

  • Emerging players with disruptive, flexible technologies may reshape the competitive data infrastructure landscape.

Why this matters: Databricks and Snowflake’s plateau reveals urgent industry needs for open, interoperable data platforms that support advanced AI and real-time workloads. Organizations that embrace new, flexible solutions can overcome current limitations, avoid vendor lock-in, and secure a strategic edge in the evolving data ecosystem.

OLAP

TL;DR: ClickHouse secured $400M Series D led by Dragoneer to boost its real-time analytics and AI infrastructure, expand cloud services, and compete with top providers amid growing demand for fast, scalable databases.

  • ClickHouse raised $400 million in Series D funding led by Dragoneer to accelerate analytics and AI infrastructure expansion.

  • The funding will enhance ClickHouse’s cloud services, scalability, and global footprint for real-time data processing.

  • Investor confidence reflects strong demand for advanced, fast analytical databases supporting AI and business intelligence.

  • ClickHouse aims to compete with major analytics providers by improving performance and driving data-driven decision-making.

Why this matters: The $400M funding empowers ClickHouse to scale and innovate rapidly, addressing the surging global demand for real-time analytics and AI-driven insights. Its growth challenges established providers, accelerating the shift toward data-first strategies that enable businesses to optimize operations and drive competitive advantage in diverse industries.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN CLOUD DATABASES

DEEP DIVE

Communications for the Modern Data Practitioner

I had a few ideas floating around for this weeks Deep Dive. Things like multi modal versus multi model databases, The burgeoning darling, Clickhouse, and also, Backend as a Service (BaaS).

But I thought those things would take a lot of research. I am a little behind today, as I am usually done writing the newsletter by Friday night. I also need to conserve a little energy, at least this weekend, to dig myself out from the incessant snow a bit later.

Why I came to the conclusion that I should write about communications is a bit appropriate for what I have been up to as of late, and a bit paradoxical because of my famously introverted personality, even though I write for literally thousands of people. Plus, I have to present to my team Monday afternoon.

I have been told that I write well by several individuals. I have also been told that I can convey ideas well in meetings, and that I possess the ability to explain complex topics so that most people can understand what I am talking about.

I started in IT in the 1990s and that was essentially grind time. What I mean is that I was tasked to get technical things done.

Fast forward to 2026, I find myself in many meetings, and having to speak in a way that is not necessarily unnatural, but in a way that is measured, while trying to balance that with getting a point across. This is always tempered with empirical evidence. It is not really corporate speak, but it’s almost as if you are trying to condense your words, and not hog the forum.

I really don’t know how else to explain it.

As for the writing aspect, I thankfully have a knack, I think, that I can write well, to the point where my missives are used as standards documents of sorts, where I earn a living. The way I see technical writing is to not confound the reader, but again, get your point across. If you have to, include simple, relatable analogies if you are tasked with writing.

My credo for aiming to create a high standard of writing, is just get a point across.

We are blessed at this point in time to have available to us numerous chat bots that can help you fact check, conduct research, and do quick spelling and grammar checks. This helps me tremendously.

So how does this all relate to the Data Pro that needs to be able to write, or do virtual or in-person presentations in a corporate setting:

  • Take your time when writing and do fact checks, grammar and spelling checks

  • Practice your presentation before you present

  • Get an idea of how long your oral presentation will be

  • For writing tasks, get a clear idea of your mandate/assignment (trust me on that)

  • Take your time, give yourself some grace, and if you have an oral presentation quiet your mind and take a few deep breaths before your presentation

That’s pretty much it. We can get back into Interoperability, Delta Lakes, vector embeddings, NoSQL, and all the other highly technical stuff next week.

All I can think about right now is if I have enough juice in my snowblower battery…

To everyone in the East United States and Central and Eastern Canada, stay safe and take it easy shoveling.

Gladstone Benjamin