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Last week, we joined over 22,000 data and AI professionals at the Databricks Data + AI Summit 2025 in San Francisco. It was an exciting showcase of Databricks’ momentum as a leader in the data intelligence space, with major updates unveiled across its Data Intelligence Platform.
| Key Platform Highlights | Description |
| Lakebase | A low-latency, transactional database integrated into the platform |
| Databricks Apps | Build and run secure, AI-driven data applications |
| Agent Bricks | AI agents fine-tuned on your own data |
| Unity Catalog Metrics | Consistent, governed KPIs for every team and workload |
| Lakebridge | Streamlined migration into the lakehouse |
| Lakeflow | Unified pipelines for ETL and orchestration |
| Lakeflow Designer | A no-code tool to build production-ready ETL pipelines |
| Genie | Natural language search to uncover insights |
| Databricks One | Providing secure and simplified access for data consumers |
| Databricks Free Edition | A free, hands-on environment for exploring and learning Databricks |
Data at the Core
AI is already reshaping industries, and its long-term impact on society will be profound. But what truly stood out at this year’s summit was the strong focus on data integration, data quality, and data governance. Databricks made it clear that high-quality, well-managed, and accessible data is the foundation of AI success.
Rather than competing in the generative AI model race, Databricks is taking a different route. It’s partnering with leading LLM providers such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI to offer seamless access to commercial and open-source models. This strategic approach reflects their core mission to power AI innovation by being the most robust data foundation, not just another model vendor.
A Platform Built to Scale with You
Through smart acquisitions and strategic tech partnerships, Databricks continues to level up its platform. The acquisition of Neon brings Lakebase, an optimized transactional database for AI workloads, into the fold. Bladebridge, now part of Databricks, enables faster migrations through Lakebridge. And with Databricks Apps, the platform now hosts applications within the Databricks ecosystem.
All these enhancements point to a clear strategy offering a powerful end-to-end platform that’s ready for any data and AI challenge. By integrating complementary capabilities across the stack, Databricks is minimizing the need for third-party tools and solidifying its position as the go-to data platform for enterprise AI.
Driving Adoption Across Audiences
With Databricks Free, the company is making a bold move to open access for learners, students, and educators. It’s a long-term play to ensure widespread adoption and build a new generation of Databricks-savvy talent across the industry.
On the business side, Databricks One simplifies how business users interact with data by offering tailored insights, intuitive dashboards, and domain-specific access to data. Together, these educational and user-empowerment initiatives create a well-rounded approach to adoption that enables technical upskilling while equipping business users to act on data.
Final Thoughts
The summit showcased a wave of new capabilities and real-world examples of how organizations are putting data and AI to work. But what stood out from our vantage point was Databricks' sharp focus on becoming the open, foundational platform for the data-driven AI future. Through continuous infrastructure innovation, strategic partnerships, and clear commitment to users, Databricks is laying the groundwork to support the next generation of data and AI applications.
Curious about how your organization can build the right foundation for AI? Explore how we help businesses become truly data ready for AI success here.
Lingaro is a Databricks Elite Consulting Partner.
This perspective is based on our participation and observations at the Databricks Data + AI Summit 2025 and reflects our point of view as a trusted partner in enterprise data and analytics transformation.
