Databricks bought two startups to underpin its new AI security product - TechCrunch

With an overflowing war chest from its $5 billion raise that closed last month (not to mention billions in revenue), Databricks is acquiring. The company, best known for its cloud data analytics platform, announced on Tuesday that it was launching a new security product called Lakewatch. Lakewatch takes Databricks’ ability to store massive amounts of data and performs classic Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tasks, like detecting and investigating threats. Only it does so with the help of AI agents powered by Anthropic’s Claude. Databricks bought two startups to underpin this new product: Antimatter, in an undisclosed-until-now deal that closed last year, and SiftD.ai, in a deal that flew together over the last couple of weeks and closed on Monday, the company told TechCrunch. Terms were not disclosed for either deal. Antimatter, founded by security researcher Andrew Krioukov, raised $12 million led by New Enterprise Associates in 2022, according to PitchBook estimates. If tiny SiftD.ai had raised money, PitchBook wasn’t aware. SiftD.ai was so young, it had only launched its product in November: an interactive notebook (like a Jupyter notebook) intended to be a tool where people and agents worked together. The Databricks team knew the startup’s co-founder CEO Steve Zhang from his many years as chief scientist at Splunk (through 2021). He created the Search Processing Language while there. (His LinkedIn also says he was CTO of Astronomer, of the Coldplay CEO scandal, but left there in 2023 before founding SiftD.) Both of these acquisitions were of small startups — only a few people in SiftD’s case and less than 50 for Antimatter, according to LinkedIn. SiftD appears to be an acqui-hire. With Antimatter, Databricks probably gained some IP, too. Krioukov had demonstrated Antimatter’s tech onstage in 2024 at RSA’s Innovation Sandbox Contest. Antimatter was working on a “data control plane” tool that allowed enterprises to deploy agents securely, while protecting sensitive data. While Databricks declined to say how many employees it acquired, it confirmed that the startups’ employees did join the company. Krioukov, who’s been at Databricks for months now, is leading the Lakewatch team. This Week Only: Up to $482 savings for Disrupt 2026 Offer ends April 10, 11:59 p.m. PT Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to secure these savings. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW We asked Databricks if it was going to keep shopping for startups and a spokesperson essentially said, yes, that it continuously has its feelers out. “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,” the spokesperson said. Topics acqui-hire, AI, Databricks, Enterprise, Mergers and Acquisitions, Startups Julie Bort Venture Editor Julie Bort is the Startups/Venture Desk editor for TechCrunch. You can contact or verify outreach from Julie by emailing julie.bort@techcrunch.com or via @Julie188 on X. View Bio April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. REGISTER NOW Most Popular North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making In Japan, the robot isn’t coming for your job; it’s filling the one nobody wants Embattled startup Delve has ‘parted ways’ with Y Combinator Anthropic says Claude Code subscribers will need to pay extra for OpenClaw usage Anthropic took down thousands of GitHub repos trying to yank its leaked source code — a move the company says was an accident The reputation of troubled YC startup Delve has gotten even worse Anthropic is having a month