Data lakehouse provider Databricks has acquired data platform modernization software provider BladeBridge for an undisclosed sum, aiming to simplify the process of migrating enterprise data warehouses to its platform. This strategic move is expected to increase Databricks' revenue by offering customers lower costs and lower risk in the migration process.

The acquisition of BladeBridge will provide Databricks' customers with a seamless migration experience, leveraging BladeBridge's AI-powered conversion capabilities. The company's software offers insights into the scope of conversion, configurable code transpiling, LLM-powered conversion, and easy validation of migrated systems. This will enable enterprises to save "months of work" by automatically building a summary of all extract, transform, load (ETL) and database assets in just a few hours.

The BladeBridge platform consists of four major products: an Analyzer, a Converter, the Data Recon module, and a Studio. The Analyzer provides a full report of the migration's scope and complexity, while also automatically conducting query testing between the rival database and Databricks SQL to identify discrepancies for early remediation. The Converter then starts converting the rival data warehouse into Databricks SQL using a configuration-driven approach that accounts for differences between the legacy architecture and Databricks SQL.

Databricks' acquisition of BladeBridge is a strategic move to expand its offerings and increase revenue. BladeBridge claims that its AI-based approach can help migrate to at least 20 different data warehouses and ETL tools 50% faster than traditional approaches. The company has strong ties with system integrators, such as Accenture, Capgemini, Celebal Technologies, and Tredence, with proven deployments across "hundreds of customers."

Several enterprises have already benefited from BladeBridge's migration capabilities, including Thomas International and VGZ. Thomas International used BladeBridge to move from Snowflake to Databricks' Data Intelligence Platform, resulting in a 40% increase in development productivity. VGZ's migration to Databricks via BladeBridge helped it achieve a 30% improvement in time to market for new data products.

Databricks plans to make BladeBridge and its related products freely available to enterprises and partners in the future. The company also aims to scale BladeBridge expertise to other system integrators, contributing to its goal of reaching a $3 billion revenue run rate and being free cash flow positive in the fourth quarter ending January 31, 2025.

The acquisition of BladeBridge comes on the heels of Databricks' $15 billion Series J financing round, which saw new and existing investors, such as Temasek and QIA, invest $10 billion. As part of that round, the company closed a $5.25 billion credit facility led by JPMorgan Chase alongside Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Databricks has been acquiring companies to expand its offerings, including Boston-based Lilac AI and LLM and model-training software provider MosaicML for $1.3 billion.

The acquisition of BladeBridge is a significant move for Databricks, solidifying its position as a leading data lakehouse provider. As the company continues to expand its offerings and capabilities, it is likely to have a profound impact on the data analytics industry, enabling enterprises to harness the power of their data more efficiently and effectively.