Databricks has reached a deal to buy Neon, an open source database startup that rivals AWS Aurora Postgres, for approximately $1 billion. By integrating Neon’s serverless relational database technology, Databricks has agreed to acquire Neon aims to boost AI agent deployment and streamline data intelligence services for its users.
Neon, which was co-founded in 2021, offers a cloud platform enabling developers to clone databases and assess changes before final implementation. The service flexibly adjusts compute resources in real time and supports isolated database environments tailored for testing and development needs.
Neon’s Power for AI Workloads
The Neon platform is particularly attractive for AI-driven operations, as its databases can be automatically created and managed by AI agents rather than manual intervention. Recent metrics highlight that the majority of databases launched on Neon result directly from AI agents, signaling a shift toward automated development.
Industry experts at Databricks, Inc. is a global data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) company emphasize that these capabilities are vital for the accelerated workflows powered by AI agents, who operate faster yet benefit from robust oversight to prevent errors. The blend of serverless architecture, pay-as-you-go models, and Postgres community support is expected to enhance flexibility for developers.
Neon has attracted over $129 million in investment to date, drawing backing from major industry players. Databricks, having raised more than $19 billion and recently valued at $62 billion, continues to invest aggressively to fortify its position in the evolving landscape of AI infrastructure.
The acquisition comes on the heels of Databricks’ recent purchases of other key data and AI companies. With each addition, Databricks extends its reach and reaffirms its commitment to becoming the premier platform for AI application development and deployment.
