Databricks vs Palantir: Founders, CEOs and History
Databricks was founded in 2013 by Ali Ghodsi, Matei Zaharia, Reynold Xin and is led by Ali Ghodsi. Palantir was founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Joe Lonsdale and is led by Alexander C. Karp.
Company facts
Databricks
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Ali Ghodsi
- Employees
- 14,000
Palantir
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- Aventura (Miami area), Florida, United States
- Current CEO
- Alexander C. Karp
- Employees
- 4,429
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.
Palantir
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel came up with the idea for Palantir after 9/11, betting that the link-analysis methods PayPal used against fraud rings could help intelligence analysts find terrorist networks.
Alexander Karp
Alexander C. Karp has been Palantir's CEO and a director since 2004. He led the company through its September 2020 direct listing, its first GAAP-profitable year in 2023, S&P 500 inclusion in 2024, and the 2026 headquarters move to the Miami area.
Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale joined Palantir's founding team in 2003, shortly after finishing Stanford, and worked on early operations and business development.
Stephen Cohen
Stephen Cohen co-founded Palantir in 2003 as a Stanford computer science student and helped build its early engineering culture and software architecture.
Nathan Gettings
Nathan Gettings was part of Palantir's 2003 founding team and contributed engineering experience from PayPal's anti-fraud work to the company's early data-integration technology.
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
Palantir
- Peter Thiel2003–present
Co-Founder and Chairman
Chairs the board and holds Class F founder voting shares.
Source - Stephen Cohen2003–present
Co-Founder and President
Serves as President and a director, and holds Class F founder shares.
Source - Alexander C. Karp2004–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Has run Palantir for more than two decades, taking it from a venture-backed government contractor to a profitable company with $4.475 billion of 2025 revenue.
Source - Shyam Sankar2006–present
Chief Technology Officer and EVP
One of Palantir's longest-serving executives and a public advocate for defense procurement reform.
Source - David Glazer2019–present
Chief Financial Officer
Oversees financial reporting and guidance.
Source
Timeline: Databricks and Palantir side by side
2003Palantir
Palantir founded
Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale and Nathan Gettings founded Palantir in Palo Alto to build data-fusion software for counterterrorism.
2005Palantir
In-Q-Tel investment
In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture arm, invested about $2 million, giving Palantir early access to intelligence-community users.
2009Databricks
Apache Spark Invented at UC Berkeley AMPLab
Matei Zaharia and AMPLab researchers created Apache Spark to overcome MapReduce memory-latency limitations.
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.
2016Databricks
Ali Ghodsi Becomes CEO
Ali Ghodsi succeeded Ion Stoica as CEO, shifting corporate focus toward enterprise cloud software and customer monetization.
2016Palantir
Court win against the U.S. Army
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the Army had to consider commercial products such as Palantir's in its DCGS-A procurement. The Federal Circuit upheld the ruling in 2018.
2017Databricks
Microsoft Partnership & Azure Databricks Launch
Partnered with Microsoft to launch Azure Databricks as a first-party native cloud analytics service.
2019Databricks
Invention of Delta Lake & The Lakehouse Architecture
Open-sourced Delta Lake, adding ACID transactions to cloud object storage and formalizing the Lakehouse paradigm.
2020Palantir
Direct listing and move to Denver
Palantir moved its headquarters to Denver and listed directly on the NYSE on September 30, 2020, under the ticker PLTR.
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.
2023Palantir
AIP launched
Palantir launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform and posted its first full year of GAAP profit, $209.8 million.
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.
2024Palantir
S&P 500 entry and Nasdaq switch
Palantir joined the S&P 500 on September 23, 2024, and moved its stock listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq in November 2024.
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.
2025Palantir
$4.475 billion in revenue
FY2025 revenue rose 56% to $4.475 billion, and net income reached $1.625 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.
2026Palantir
Headquarters moves to Miami area
Effective February 17, 2026, Palantir's principal executive office became 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura, Florida.
2026Palantir
Q2 revenue up 93%
Q2 2026 revenue reached $1.935 billion, and Palantir raised its full-year guidance to $8.150-$8.158 billion.
Acquisitions
Databricks
- Panther2026Undisclosed
- Electric2026Undisclosed
- Row Zero2026Undisclosed
- Neon2025$1B
- Tabular2024$1B
- Lilac AI2024Undisclosed
Questions about Databricks vs Palantir
Who is the CEO of Databricks, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Databricks, Inc. is led by Ali Ghodsi and Palantir Technologies Inc. is led by Alexander C. Karp. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Databricks, Inc. founded vs Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Palantir Technologies Inc. was founded in 2003 — 10 years before Databricks, Inc., which was founded in 2013. Palantir Technologies Inc.'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 Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Databricks, Inc. employs approximately 14,000 people, while Palantir Technologies Inc. employs approximately 4,429. Databricks, Inc. has the larger workforce at 14,000 employees, compared to Palantir Technologies Inc.'s 4,429. 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 Palantir Technologies Inc. headquartered?
Both Databricks, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Databricks, Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Databricks, Inc. was founded by Ali Ghodsi, Matei Zaharia, Reynold Xin, Patrick Wendell, Andy Konwinski, Scott Shenker, Ion Stoica, Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji. Palantir Technologies Inc. was founded by Peter Thiel, Alexander Karp, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen, Nathan Gettings.
Which company has a longer operating history — Databricks, Inc. or Palantir Technologies Inc.?
Palantir Technologies Inc. has been operating for approximately 23 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 Palantir overview