Databricks vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History
Databricks was founded in 2013 by Ali Ghodsi, Matei Zaharia, Reynold Xin and is led by Ali Ghodsi. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella.
Company facts
Databricks
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Ali Ghodsi
- Employees
- 14,000
Microsoft
- Founded
- 1975
- Headquarters
- Redmond, Washington, United States
- Current CEO
- Satya Nadella
- Employees
- 223,000
Founders
Databricks
Ali Ghodsi
Ali Ghodsi is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Databricks, Inc. A effective distributed systems researcher and entrepreneur, Ghodsi co-created Apache Spark alongside Matei Zaharia at UC Berkeley, anticipating the large explosion of big data and di…
Matei Zaharia
Matei Zaharia is a brilliant Romanian-Canadian computer scientist and the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Databricks. While pursuing his Ph.D.
Reynold Xin
Reynold Xin is a highly prominent computer scientist, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and Chief Architect of Databricks.
Patrick Wendell
Patrick Wendell is a co-founder and former Vice President of Engineering at Databricks, playing an absolutely critical role in the technical commercialization of Apache Spark.
Andy Konwinski
Andy Konwinski is a co-founder of Databricks and a highly influential, foundational figure in modern cloud infrastructure architecture.
Scott Shenker
Scott Shenker is a legendary computer science professor at UC Berkeley and a highly influential co-founder of Databricks.
Ion Stoica
Ion Stoica is a brilliant Romanian-American computer scientist, a professor at UC Berkeley, and the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Databricks.
Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji
Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji is a Databricks co-founder who focused on the commercial side of the business, including field engineering and customer-facing roles that helped large enterprises adopt the platform in its early years.
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft possesses arguably the most well-known, foundational founding story of the entire personal computing revolution, rooted in the intense, effective partnership of two teenage computer prodigies who recognized the software potential of the microcomputer…
Paul Allen
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft and was crucial to its earliest technical and strategic decisions. He helped develop Altair BASIC, gave the company its original name, and participated in the operating-system opportunity that led to MS-DOS.
CEOs and their tenures
Databricks
- Matei Zaharia2013–present
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Matei Zaharia co-founded Databricks in 2013 and serves as Chief Technology Officer.
Source - Ali Ghodsi2016–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Has led Databricks from an early-stage startup to a $7B+ revenue run-rate and $190 billion valuation (August 2026).
Source
Microsoft
- Bill Gates1975–2000
Co-founder and CEO
Gates built Microsoft's licensing model: software sold to many hardware makers rather than tied to one.
Source - Steve Ballmer2000–2014
CEO
Ballmer grew revenue from about $23 billion in FY2000 to about $78 billion in FY2013 and built the enterprise server and sales business that Azure later scaled on.
Source - Satya Nadella2014–present
Chairman and CEO
Nadella made Azure and Microsoft 365 the company's core, opened Microsoft to Linux and open source, and positioned it early in generative AI through OpenAI.
Source
Timeline: Databricks and Microsoft side by side
1975Microsoft
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.
1981Microsoft
MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC
IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.
1985Microsoft
Windows Launch
The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.
1990Microsoft
Office Suite Release
The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.
1998Microsoft
U.S. Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.
2009Databricks
Apache Spark Invented at UC Berkeley AMPLab
Matei Zaharia and AMPLab researchers created Apache Spark to overcome MapReduce memory-latency limitations.
2010Microsoft
Azure Commercial Launch
Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.
2013Databricks
Databricks Founded by UC Berkeley Researchers
Ali Ghodsi, Matei Zaharia, Ion Stoica, and team incorporated Databricks in San Francisco with Series A from Andreessen Horowitz.
2014Microsoft
Satya Nadella CEO
Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.
2016Databricks
Ali Ghodsi Becomes CEO
Ali Ghodsi succeeded Ion Stoica as CEO, shifting corporate focus toward enterprise cloud software and customer monetization.
2016Microsoft
LinkedIn Acquisition
Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.
2017Databricks
Microsoft Partnership & Azure Databricks Launch
Partnered with Microsoft to launch Azure Databricks as a first-party native cloud analytics service.
2018Microsoft
GitHub Acquisition
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.
2019Databricks
Invention of Delta Lake & The Lakehouse Architecture
Open-sourced Delta Lake, adding ACID transactions to cloud object storage and formalizing the Lakehouse paradigm.
2021Databricks
$1.6B Series H Funding at $38B Valuation
Raised $1.6 billion led by Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global, establishing a $38 billion enterprise valuation.
2022Databricks
Debut of Photon Vectorized Engine & Databricks SQL
Released Photon C++ engine and Serverless SQL, directly competing against proprietary cloud data warehouses.
2023Databricks
Acquisition of MosaicML for $1.3 Billion
Acquired MosaicML to establish generative AI training dominance, subsequently launching the DBRX open foundation model.
2023Microsoft
AI Leadership
Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.
2023Microsoft
Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes
Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.
2024Databricks
Acquisition of Tabular for $1B+ & Unity Catalog Open-Source
Acquired the creators of Apache Iceberg and open-sourced Unity Catalog under the Linux Foundation to unify data storage.
2025Databricks
Neon Acquisition and $100B+ Valuation
Bought serverless Postgres startup Neon (reported at about $1 billion) to create Lakebase and raised capital at a valuation above $100 billion.
2026Databricks
Passes $7B Run-Rate at $190B Valuation
Reported a revenue run-rate above $7 billion (up more than 80%) and closed a $5 billion round at a $190 billion valuation; also agreed to buy Panther and acquired Electric and Row Zero.
Acquisitions
Databricks
- Panther2026Undisclosed
- Electric2026Undisclosed
- Row Zero2026Undisclosed
- Neon2025$1B
- Tabular2024$1B
- Lilac AI2024Undisclosed
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- GitHub2018$7.5B
- LinkedIn2016$26.2B
Questions about Databricks vs Microsoft
Who is the CEO of Databricks, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation?
Databricks, Inc. is led by Ali Ghodsi and Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Databricks, Inc. founded vs Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 38 years before Databricks, Inc., which was founded in 2013. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Databricks, Inc..
How many employees does Databricks, Inc. have compared to Microsoft Corporation?
Databricks, Inc. employs approximately 14,000 people, while Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to Databricks, Inc.'s 14,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Databricks, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation headquartered?
Both Databricks, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Databricks, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation?
Databricks, Inc. was founded by Ali Ghodsi, Matei Zaharia, Reynold Xin, Patrick Wendell, Andy Konwinski, Scott Shenker, Ion Stoica, Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji. Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
Which company has a longer operating history — Databricks, Inc. or Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Databricks, Inc. has been in operation for around 13 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Databricks vs Microsoft overview