Databricks and Microsoft are extending their strategic partnership into the 2030s and strengthening cooperation to enable companies to build and scale AI based on their own data and business context. The two companies have set AI governance, cost control, and securing operational efficiency as key priorities and are embarking on a joint response.

Databricks announced plans to expand its partnership with Microsoft on the 24th.

Under this collaboration, Databricks will directly operate its core business and data analytics environments on Azure Databricks and build an integrated lakehouse.

Microsoft plans to integrate AI capabilities, such as Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway, across its product family, including Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and Copilot.

Databricks is expanding its use of Microsoft's Arm-based infrastructure, Azure Cobalt, to enhance processing efficiency for AI and data-intensive workloads.

We are currently operating Cobalt 100 and plan to introduce Cobalt 200, which offers up to 50% improved performance and native memory encryption capabilities.

Integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, including Microsoft Entra, Azure Data Lake Storage, Microsoft Purview, and Power Platform, is also strengthened.

Currently, thousands of companies, including Banco Bradesco, Cincinnati Reds, Electrolux, SMBC, and Unilever, are using Azure Databricks to operate their core business operations.

Through this expanded partnership, joint clients can receive additional enhanced AI governance and enterprise-grade stability. It will come to be.

Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks, said, “As Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway are tightly integrated across Microsoft products, enterprises are now able to consolidate data and implement AI based on their enterprise data. Customers will be able to control costs and secure governance while fully enjoying the benefits of agents and models.”

Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft’s Commercial Business, stated, “Next-generation AI competitiveness depends on how effectively organizations leverage their unique data and knowledge,” adding, “As Databricks expands its investment in infrastructure based on Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt, customers are now able to achieve superior performance, efficiency, and scalability.”