Databricks Acquires Spreadsheet Startup Row Zero to Bolster AI Agent Data Queries

Databricks announced on Thursday that it has acquired Row Zero, an early-stage spreadsheet startup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Row Zero was founded by former AWS and Tableau engineers and raised $10 million in May 2025. Databricks said its finance team had been using the cloud-based spreadsheet tool, which can handle more than 1 million live rows of data, alongside the company's homegrown AI agent, Genie. With Genie, users can query data stored in Databricks systems using natural-language prompts to analyze metrics such as profit margins or sales prospect status.

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi said on X that spreadsheets are an interface widely used by business analysts, and combining business intelligence, agents, and spreadsheets makes sense. By integrating Row Zero, enterprise data can remain governed in Databricks' cloud storage while users interact with it through familiar spreadsheet formats and formulas.

Databricks has been actively acquiring companies in 2026. In August, it closed $5 billion in funding and reached $7 billion in annualized revenue run rate. Earlier this year, it acquired Quotient AI, SiftD.ai, security operations center startup Panther, and PGlite maker Electric. Ghodsi said the company intends to make more acquisitions like this in the future.