Databricks, the leading company in data and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, has announced the opening of a new regional center for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region in London. The new office, located in the Fitzrovia neighborhood, spans seven floors and features 2,776 square meters dedicated to innovation, customer collaboration, and the continued growth of the company, which aims to meet the growing demand from organizations to invest in data and AI through the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.
Driving Adoption of the Data Intelligence Platform
With over 400 employees in the UK, Databricks has experienced an annual growth rate of over 60% in the past three years. Leading companies in the country such as Gousto, Heathrow, Rolls Royce, SEGA Europe, Shell, and Virgin Atlantic have adopted its platform. The Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, based on an open lakehouse architecture, provides a unified foundation for data management and governance, as well as AI models tailored to each organization’s specific needs.
Richard Masters, Vice President of Data and AI at Virgin Atlantic, highlighted Databricks’ key role in transforming the airline’s customer experience: "Today, customers expect more personalized incentives and rewards, which requires integrating data sources and breaking down silos. This is where the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform has made a difference."
At SEGA Europe, Felix Baker, Head of Data Services, also praised the platform: "We generate over 50,000 data events per second related to player behavior and interactions in the game. It is vital to have tools that maximize the value of our data and provide more personalized gaming experiences. Databricks’ platform has allowed us to democratize our data for analysis and machine learning."
Boosting Data and AI Skills Development
As part of its commitment to growth in the UK, Databricks has formed partnerships with more than 35 universities, including the London School of Economics, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Oxford. Through their University Partnerships Program, these collaborations aim to equip data science students with skills in big data programming and analysis.
Michael Green, Vice President for Northern Europe at Databricks, emphasized the importance of the British market for the company: "This new space in the heart of London reflects our ambitions to support more local businesses in innovating with data and AI. We want this office to be a meeting point for our team, customers, partners, and the data and AI community."
A Space Designed for Innovation and Collaboration
The new EMEA center features a real-time demonstration area, the first of its kind in the company. In this space, customers and potential partners can see how data comes to life, reinforcing Databricks’ innovative approach to interacting with its customers.
Samuel Bonamigo, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EMEA at Databricks, emphasized: "I am impressed by the pace of innovation coming out of Databricks in the UK and throughout EMEA. I hope that our vibrant new center will inspire more collaboration, innovation, and skills development as the data and AI market continues to grow."
Boosting the Data and AI World Tour in EMEA
The opening of this new center follows the success of the "Data + AI World Tour London" event organized by Databricks, which sold out all tickets. Over 2,000 data and AI professionals attended the event held at the ExCeL in London, where they shared knowledge and best practices with companies such as Asda, BBC, bp, and Rolls Royce.
This event is part of a global tour across eight cities in EMEA that aims to connect professionals in the industry, promote learning, and share experiences in the field of data and AI.
About Databricks
Databricks is the world’s leading data and artificial intelligence company. Over 10,000 organizations, including Block, Comcast, Shell, and more than 60% of the Fortune 500 companies, rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to manage and leverage their data with AI. Headquartered in San Francisco with offices around the world, Databricks was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake, and MLflow.