Fresh off a $5 billion funding round that concluded last month, and with substantial existing revenue, Databricks is actively expanding through acquisitions. The company, primarily recognized for its cloud data analytics platform, introduced a new security offering named Lakewatch on Tuesday. This product leverages Databricks' capacity to manage vast data stores to perform traditional Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) functions, such as threat detection and investigation. A key differentiator is its utilization of AI agents powered by Anthropic's Claude.

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To build this new product, Databricks acquired two startups: Antimatter, in a previously undisclosed deal finalized last year, and SiftD. The financial terms for both acquisitions were not made public. According to PitchBook data, Antimatter, founded by security researcher Andrew Krioukov, secured a $12 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates in 2022. In contrast, the much smaller SiftD.ai does not appear to have raised any notable venture capital. SiftD.ai was a very new venture, having launched its core product only in November; it was an interactive notebook, similar to a Jupyter notebook, designed for collaborative work between humans and AI agents.

The Databricks team was familiar with SiftD.ai's co-founder and CEO, Steve Zhang, from his long tenure as chief scientist at Splunk, which lasted through 2021. During his time at Splunk, Zhang created the Search Processing Language. His LinkedIn profile also notes a subsequent role as CTO of Astronomer, a company associated with the Coldplay CEO scandal, before he departed in 2023 to found SiftD.

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Both acquisitions involved small startups. Based on LinkedIn data, SiftD had only a handful of employees, while Antimatter had fewer than 50. The SiftD acquisition appears to be primarily an acquihire. With Antimatter, Databricks likely also gained valuable intellectual property. Krioukov had showcased Antimatter's technology on stage in 2024 at the RSA Conference's Innovation Sandbox Contest. The startup was developing a "data control plane" tool designed to help enterprises deploy AI agents securely while safeguarding sensitive information.

Although Databricks chose not to specify the exact number of employees acquired, it confirmed that staff from both startups have joined the company. Krioukov, who has been with Databricks for several months, is now leading the Lakewatch team. When asked if the company plans to continue acquiring startups, a spokesperson indicated an ongoing search for new opportunities, stating, “We’re always looking to what’s next - our goal is to stay ahead of the market and close gaps in what our customers need.”