- Databricks and Microsoft are extending their strategic partnership into the 2030s to scale enterprise AI
- Databricks is expanding its commitment to Azure and increasingly using Azure Databricks to run its own core business operations and analytics, as both companies advance native integration across the Microsoft stack, including Databricks Genie and Microsoft 365
- Databricks is increasing its use of Microsoft Azure Cobalt to improve performance and efficiency
REDMOND, Washington and SAN FRANCISCO – July 23, 2026 – Microsoft Corp. and Databricks announced Wednesday an expansion of their decade-long strategic partnership that extends into the 2030s. Databricks will increase its use of Azure Databricks to run core business operations and build its unified lakehouse, while leveraging Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency. Microsoft will also continue to integrate Databricks’ data and AI platform into its products and integrate features such as Genie, Databricks’ AI employee, directly into customers’ workflows. Together, the companies help companies build AI that is rooted in their own business context and provides the cost efficiency, control and choice needed to scale successfully.
Companies want AI that understands their customers, products, operations, metrics and business processes while running securely where the work takes place. However, most people still find it difficult to combine AI with trustworthy business knowledge, consistently control models and agents, and control costs. Microsoft and Databricks help customers close this gap:
“Databricks and Microsoft have been helping companies innovate with data and AI for nearly a decade,” said Ali Ghodsi, co-founder and CEO of Databricks. “Today, our partnership is stronger than ever. With the comprehensive integration of Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway into Microsoft products, we help companies unify their data and embed AI in business knowledge. This allows customers to take full advantage of agents and models while controlling costs and ensuring governance.”
“The next generation of AI will be shaped by how effectively companies transform their unique knowledge into intelligence,” said Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft Commercial Business. “Microsoft and Databricks help customers connect data, AI and business context to accelerate decision-making and deliver measurable impact. As Databricks deepens its investment in Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt-based infrastructure, customers will benefit from greater performance, efficiency and scalability for their most demanding workloads. Databricks’ decision to run its own core business operations on Azure Databricks also gives customers confidence in a platform that is proven at the enterprise level has.”
Databricks runs core business operations on Azure Databricks
As part of this latest agreement, Databricks deepens its commitment to Azure by running its own core business operations and analytics on Azure Databricks, leveraging the very platform it provides to its customers at scale.
Increase performance with Azure Cobalt
Databricks will also expand the use of Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency for agent- and data-intensive workloads. Databricks is currently using Cobalt 100 and plans to introduce Cobalt 200, which offers up to 50% better performance and includes storage encryption enabled by default.
Comprehensive integrations for Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway with the Microsoft product stack
By combining the Databricks Data + AI platform with the global reach of Azure, customers can accelerate AI transformation while maintaining control and reliability. As a native Azure service, Azure Databricks delivers its AI capabilities directly within customers’ existing Microsoft environment by powering and powering agents on enterprise data using Genie and Genie Ontology and controlling models, agents and costs via Unity AI Gateway. These capabilities are deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem, which includes Microsoft Entra, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Security, Microsoft OneLake, Power BI, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Foundry, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot. They bring controlled, real-time data and AI into business operations, giving organizations the context, control, choice and cost-efficiency they need to drive impact.
Continued investment can be seen in our recent announcements with Databricks at the Data + AI Summit in June.
Customer impact with Azure Databricks
The deeper collaboration strengthens support for joint customers running data, analytics and AI workloads on Azure Databricks, ensuring improved performance, security, AI governance and business readiness. Thousands of customers, including Banco Bradesco, the Cincinnati Reds, Electrolux, SMBC and Unilever, are already using Azure Databricks to run critical workloads and securely scale AI.
About Databricks
Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 20,000 companies worldwide – including AT&T, Bayer, BMW Group, HSBC, T-Mobile, Unilever and 70% of the Fortune 500 – rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco and with over 30 offices around the globe, Databricks provides a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn. XYouTube and Instagram.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the changing needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI widely available and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
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https://news.microsoft.com/source/2026/07/23/databricks-and-microsoft-expand-partnership-to-help-enterprises-bring-business-context-to-enterprise-ai/
