Databricks, a leader in cloud analytics and generative AI, is now entering the cybersecurity space. Its new product, Lakewatch, aims to reshape how companies detect and respond to threats using AI and data intelligence.

A New Player in the Cybersecurity Arena

Databricks has long been a major force in data analytics and artificial intelligence, helping companies manage vast amounts of information and run generative AI models. Now, it’s taking a big step into the cybersecurity field with Lakewatch, a product designed to challenge traditional security tools. The software uses AI agents powered by Anthropic’s Claude models to automate and speed up threat detection and investigation.

Lakewatch offers more than typical security products. Instead of charging customers based on the volume of data stored, Databricks plans to price the service according to the workload it performs. That’s a shift from the usual model, which can make protecting large amounts of data too costly. CEO Ali Ghodsi said The approach is necessary to handle the growing wave of cybersecurity data without breaking the bank.

Building Lakewatch: Startup Acquisitions Fuel Innovation

Databricks’ confidence in this new direction comes with the help of two relatively small but strategic acquisitions. The first, Antimatter, was acquired in May 2025 but hadn’t been publicly disclosed until now. Antimatter’s technology focuses on secure authentication and authorization for AI agents, forming the backbone of Lakewatch’s capability to deploy and manage AI-driven security agents safely across large enterprises.

Andrew Krioukov, Antimatter’s co-founder and now general manager of Lakewatch at Databricks, highlighted how the company’s technology was originally built on Databricks’ platform. He said that since the acquisition, the team has tripled in size to rapidly develop and expand Lakewatch’s features.

The second acquisition was SiftD.ai, a startup launched just months before being acquired. SiftD.ai brings deep expertise in detection engineering and threat analytics, led by Steve Zhang, who created Splunk’s widely used Search Processing Language (SPL). While details of the deal remain under wraps, SiftD.ai appears to be an acqui-hire, adding valuable skill and knowledge to Databricks’ security efforts.

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Lakewatch’s Ambitious Vision

Lakewatch combines security, IT, and business data into a single environment governed by AI to detect threats across an organization’s entire digital footprint. It’s built to handle massive volumes of multi-modal data, offering comprehensive visibility to security teams. Since attackers adapt quickly and security teams have limited time, the platform automates threat detection and response on a large scale.

Databricks sees security as fundamentally a data problem. That’s why it’s leveraging its core strength in data management and AI to create what it calls an "agentic" SIEM product—one that can't only detect threats but also take autonomous action when necessary.

Some early customers like Adobe and National Australia Bank are already testing Lakewatch. They’re tapping into Anthropic’s AI models running within the system to enhance cybersecurity operations. Anthropic itself uses Databricks for its cybersecurity needs, showing the close ties in this ecosystem.

Implications for Databricks’ Growth and IPO Prospects

Databricks has raised $5 billion recently and generates billions in revenue, but it’s still a private company with a $134 billion valuation. The launch of Lakewatch could be a key part of its strategy to enter new markets and justify that valuation to investors ahead of a possible initial public offering, which CEO Ghodsi hasn’t ruled out for 2026.

The cybersecurity market is crowded with big names like Palo Alto Networks, Cisco-owned Splunk, Google, and Microsoft. But Databricks’ AI-driven approach and novel pricing model could shake things up. Instead of forcing companies to pay for storing all their security data, Lakewatch scales costs with the actual work done, potentially making it more accessible and efficient.

Databricks is also keeping its doors open for more acquisitions. A company spokesperson said they’re always scouting for new technologies that fill gaps and keep them ahead of customer needs.

Lakewatch is based on the idea that AI and data platforms can automate complex, time-sensitive cybersecurity tasks that usually require human experts.

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By launching Lakewatch, Databricks is making a strong move into the future of cybersecurity. It's too soon to tell if Databricks’ AI-driven approach will challenge established competitors, but their acquisition strategy and focus on data-driven security show clear ambition.

This article was created with AI assistance.