Buying Databricks shares: When is the IPO and how can investors get in early?

You have read that Databricks is valued at USD 190 billion and cannot find the share in your portfolio? The reason is simple: as of 27 October 2026, Databricks is a private company, and there is no Databricks share with a securities number or market price. CEO Ali Ghodsi has ruled out an IPO for 2026 but wants to take the company public later. If you want exposure beforehand, you can get it through a fund that already holds shares in Databricks.

Databricks at a glance

• Databricks runs a platform on which companies analyse their data and build AI applications.
• There is no freely tradable share and no official price.
• Latest valuation: USD 190 billion from the funding round in August 2026.
• IPO: ruled out for 2026, no date set.
• You can get indirect exposure through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF.
• Risks: high valuation, open timing of the IPO, capital lock-up, losses up to total loss.

Can you buy Databricks shares?

Not directly. Databricks is not listed, so you will not find a Databricks share at any bank or broker. Figures that appear online as a Databricks price are usually valuations from funding rounds or prices from trading venues for private shares. Such venues and the special purpose vehicles that bundle shares there are generally open only to large investors or investors authorised in the US.

For private investors in Germany, the route to Databricks before an IPO runs through a fund. How exactly that works is explained further down. For an overview of all the big candidates up to 2027, see our article on pre-IPO investing.

What does Databricks do?

Databricks was founded in San Francisco in 2013. The founders come from the University of California, Berkeley, where they had developed the open-source software Apache Spark, a tool that processes very large volumes of data across many computers at once. Ali Ghodsi is one of the founders and leads the company as CEO.

On the Databricks platform, companies bring their data together in one place and build AI applications and AI agents on top of it. A retailer, for example, can combine sales data from all its stores and train a model that estimates demand for the coming weeks. According to the company, more than 20,000 organisations use the platform, including adidas and Bayer.

Databricks earns money mainly by usage: the more computing power a customer uses on the platform, the more it pays. In August 2026 the company reported an annualised revenue run-rate of more than USD 7 billion and growth of over 80 per cent compared with the previous year. The run-rate takes the revenue of recent months and multiplies it by twelve. According to Databricks, adjusted free cash flow over the last twelve months was positive, so the company earns more from its running business than it spends on it. Databricks does not publish audited accounts the way a listed company does, and all figures come from the company itself.

Databricks valuation and funding rounds

In less than two years, the value of Databricks has more than tripled:

• December 2024: around USD 62 billion
• September 2025: around USD 100 billion
• December 2025: USD 134 billion in a round of more than USD 4 billion
• August 2026: USD 190 billion in a round of USD 5 billion, led by Coatue

Alongside Coatue, Blackstone and T. Rowe Price took part in the August round. Databricks plans to invest the money mainly in its AI products.

What matters for you as an investor is what stands behind such a figure. A valuation from a funding round is the price a few large investors pay for newly issued shares. At USD 190 billion and a run-rate of around USD 7 billion, the valuation is roughly 27 times annualised revenue. That assumes Databricks keeps growing strongly for many more years. Until an IPO, the value can change considerably, upwards and downwards.

Databricks IPO: When will it come?

There is no date. In June 2026, Ghodsi said on Bloomberg Television that Databricks will become a listed company but that 2026 is a bad year for an IPO. He cited a crowded calendar: SpaceX has gone public this year, and Anthropic and OpenAI were working towards IPOs of their own. OpenAI has since postponed its IPO to 2027, as Sam Altman said in September. One aim of the later IPO, according to Ghodsi, is to create a market for employees' shares.

In August, Ghodsi confirmed on CNBC that Databricks wants to go public. For now, though, day-to-day life as a listed company would distract him too much from work on the AI products. Because the company says it makes money and has just raised USD 5 billion, it does not depend on an IPO and can choose the timing itself. Databricks had not publicly filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by 27 October 2026. According to media reports, an IPO in 2027 is considered possible, but this is not confirmed.

What happens between the first talks with banks and the first trading day, from the confidential filing with the SEC to the lock-up period for early investors, is discussed by Robin and Hendrik in episode #65 of our podcast Diversify. For how things look at the other big names, read our articles on the SpaceX share and the OpenAI share. Anthropic is not available to invest in through NAO, but we still put the planned IPO in context in our article on the Anthropic share.

Getting exposure before the IPO: through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF

Through NAO you can invest in the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, hand-picked by our investment team like every fund in the NAO app. ARK Invest launched the fund in January 2026. It invests in private technology companies at late growth stages, including Databricks, OpenAI, SpaceX and Kalshi. Databricks was among the first holdings with which the fund built its portfolio.

With a fund unit, you hold a stake in a portfolio of private technology companies whose composition can change at any time. You do not hold a Databricks share, and the fund is not a single bet on the company either. You can invest with a lump sum or a savings plan. A lock-up period applies until 26 February 2027, during which you cannot return your units. You can find the fund on our Private Equity page, and our overview of the ELTIF explains how an ELTIF is structured and when redemptions are possible.

Databricks is not the only AI company that stays private for a long time. Which names belong to this group and how you can assess them is covered in a separate article on AI companies before the IPO [link not yet live].

Risks of an investment before the IPO

Anyone holding Databricks through a fund bears mainly these risks:

• Valuation: Databricks is valued at roughly 27 times its annualised revenue. If the business grows more slowly than expected, the value can fall sharply. Private companies have no market price, and the fund values its holdings on the basis of funding rounds and models.
• Competition: Large cloud providers and specialised data platforms offer similar tools. If the costs of AI models fall or customers change their spending, a business that bills by usage is hit directly.
• Transparency: Databricks reports revenue and growth figures itself. Audited figures only exist once a prospectus is published.
• Timing: Whether and when Databricks goes public is open.
• Capital lock-up: For the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, a lock-up period applies until 26 February 2027, after which redemptions are possible only on certain dates and may be limited.
• Loss: Losses up to the total loss of the capital invested are possible.

What does this mean for you?

According to its own statements, Databricks makes money, is growing fast and is taking its time over an IPO. That is what makes the company interesting for investors who do not want to wait for the first trading day, and expensive at the same time. Before you invest through a fund, you can clarify for yourself:

• How much money can you tie up for several years?
• Does a fund of private technology companies fit the rest of your portfolio?
• What does the fund cost, and when do you get your money back? The answers are in the key information document (KID).

Do you have questions about the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF? Our customer service is personally there for you on working days. Feel free to write to us.

FAQ

Can I buy Databricks shares?

No, as of October 2026 Databricks is not listed. There is no freely tradable share with a securities number or market price.

When is the Databricks IPO?

No date has been set. CEO Ali Ghodsi has ruled out 2026, and no prospectus is publicly on file with the SEC. According to media reports, 2027 is considered possible.

How much is Databricks worth?

In August 2026, Databricks was valued at USD 190 billion in a funding round of USD 5 billion. In December 2025 the valuation was still USD 134 billion.

Is there a Databricks share price?

No. Without a stock exchange listing there is no official price. Figures online are valuations from funding rounds or prices from private trading venues that are generally not open to private investors.

How can I invest in Databricks before the IPO?

Indirectly through the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, which holds Databricks alongside other private technology companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX. In the NAO app you can invest with a lump sum or a savings plan.

This article is for information only and does not constitute investment advice. Investments in private markets are long-term, capital is tied up over the term, and losses up to total loss are possible. Capital is at risk. Fund documents and the key information document can be found in the NAO app.

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investments in private markets are long-term, capital is tied up for the duration of the term, and losses up to the total loss of capital are possible. You can find the fund documentation and the Key Information Document (KID) in the NAO app.

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