{"id":21689,"date":"2025-06-13T10:11:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T14:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/?p=21689"},"modified":"2025-06-13T10:14:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T14:14:53","slug":"databricks-ceo-agentic-ai-will-reshape-the-entire-database-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/ai\/databricks-ceo-agentic-ai-will-reshape-the-entire-database-industry.html","title":{"rendered":"Databricks CEO: Agentic AI Will Reshape the Entire Database Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Agents Are Now Building the Databases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks, sees a future where AI agents\u2014not humans\u2014do most of the work in building and managing databases. Speaking about recent industry trends on a CNBC interview, he cited a startling shift: in 2024, only about 30% of newly created databases were the product of AI agents. This year, that figure has already climbed to 80%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And he expects it to go further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019ll be 99% next year,\u201d Ghodsi said, describing a near-future where agentic infrastructure becomes the default. The implications are profound: for decades, the database industry has relied on human-led schema design, data ingestion planning, and system tuning. With autonomous agents taking over those tasks, the role of database architects may fundamentally change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 40-Year Disruption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s being disrupted, according to Ghodsi, isn\u2019t just a set of tools\u2014it\u2019s a decades-old architecture that has remained largely unchanged. Core database technology, he notes, has been \u201clocked in\u201d for over 40 years. Systems like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and even modern cloud-native solutions follow the same general design principles they always have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But AI agents don\u2019t need to follow that model. They\u2019re not constrained by traditional data workflows or governance habits. They can spin up new databases in seconds, build schemas on the fly, and update systems continuously based on real-time application needs. In effect, the entire definition of a \u201cdatabase\u201d begins to shift from a static system to a dynamic service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Databricks CEO: &#039;Agentic&#039; AI era will disrupt the whole database industry\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UKFYmu0gQBw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Databricks\u2019 Strategic Moves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To prepare for this shift, Databricks has made several bold moves. One of them is the launch of Lakehouse-centric infrastructure designed to make data more accessible to AI models and agents. Another is the acquisition of Neon, a company focused on serverless PostgreSQL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both investments align with a clear vision: create a backend that\u2019s optimized for agent-native interactions. These systems aren\u2019t just cloud-hosted\u2014they\u2019re built to support the constant flux that comes from autonomous systems managing data in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the infrastructure isn\u2019t the only part of the equation. Ghodsi emphasized the importance of visibility and evaluation. Without the ability to understand what agents are doing, organizations risk handing over critical systems to software they can\u2019t monitor or measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bottleneck No One Talks About<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghodsi was blunt when discussing what he sees as the current bottleneck in AI agent adoption: lack of evaluation standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if an agent can ace a programming contest,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want it to do a specific job at the company. But how do we know how it\u2019s doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He believes the answer lies in rigorous benchmarking and self-assessment\u2014capabilities Databricks is actively building through its Agent Bricks initiative. The concept is straightforward: before deploying AI agents into enterprise workflows, businesses need to be able to score, audit, and improve their performance continuously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, agents will act\u2014sometimes correctly, sometimes not\u2014and enterprises won\u2019t know the difference until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sdmntpreastus.oaiusercontent.com\/files\/00000000-4904-61f9-b7df-e8a98970500a\/raw?se=2025-06-13T15%3A09%3A41Z&amp;sp=r&amp;sv=2024-08-04&amp;sr=b&amp;scid=c9658064-7228-5be6-bf06-642e1f3e4ecb&amp;skoid=02b7f7b5-29f8-416a-aeb6-99464748559d&amp;sktid=a48cca56-e6da-484e-a814-9c849652bcb3&amp;skt=2025-06-12T23%3A59%3A34Z&amp;ske=2025-06-13T23%3A59%3A34Z&amp;sks=b&amp;skv=2024-08-04&amp;sig=DppW7XlejL%2B8LeTYXX982\/HTAl9RgMXhjqd0GLc26Wc%3D\" alt=\"Generated image\" style=\"width:291px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Talent Wars Are Heating Up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another major theme Ghodsi addressed was the race for AI talent. As demand grows, he described a \u201cchaotic\u201d marketplace in which researchers and engineers move quickly between firms\u2014often in response to shifting internal dynamics and leadership struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This volatility creates both challenge and opportunity. For a company like Databricks, which doesn\u2019t have the brand gravity of Big Tech incumbents, timing and agility become key advantages. The company has repeatedly been able to recruit high performers during moments of transition elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very dynamic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just try to pick the best we can during those windows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means for the Industry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The shift to agent-driven infrastructure is still in its early days, but the signals are strong. Companies like Databricks are not only adapting to the new model\u2014they\u2019re helping define it. That has consequences across multiple dimensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Technology vendors<\/strong> will need to rethink their offerings. Static tools won\u2019t serve dynamic systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>CIOs and CTOs<\/strong> must prepare for data pipelines and system architectures that evolve autonomously.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data teams<\/strong> may shift from builders to supervisors\u2014reviewing agent decisions, rather than writing schemas from scratch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Security and compliance teams<\/strong> will need new frameworks to evaluate agent behavior, performance, and governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts: Data Will Be Built by Agents\u2014But Must Be Governed by Humans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Databricks\u2019 vision of agent-created databases isn\u2019t science fiction. It\u2019s already here\u2014and accelerating. But autonomy without accountability is a recipe for trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The core message from Ghodsi is this: infrastructure must evolve, but so must oversight. As agents take on more of the work, humans must still define the goals, constraints, and performance metrics. Done right, the agentic AI era won\u2019t just optimize databases\u2014it will redefine how data drives decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But only if we can measure what these systems are actually doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Le<em>arn how AI Agents can supercharge your company\u2019s profits and productivity at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmcnet.com\/\">TMC\u2019s&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiagentevent.com\/\">AI Agent Event&nbsp;<\/a>in Sept 29-30, 2025 in DC.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-agent-event-logo.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-agent-event-logo-1170x630.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20922\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rich Tehrani serves as CEO of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmcnet.com\/\">TMC<\/a>&nbsp;and chairman of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.itexpo.com\/\">ITEXPO<\/a>&nbsp;#TECHSUPERSHOW Feb 10-12, 2026 and is CEO of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt-advisors.com\/\">RT Advisors<\/a>&nbsp;and is&nbsp;a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.4pointscapital.com\/\">Four Points Capital Partners LLC&nbsp;<\/a>(Four Points) (Member FINRA\/SIPC). He handles capital\/debt raises as well as M&amp;A. RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy\/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The views and opinions expressed above are those of the participants. While believed to be reliable, the information has not been independently verified for accuracy. Any broad, general statements made herein are provided for context only and should not be construed as exhaustive or universally applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Portions of this article may have been developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, which may have contributed to ideation, content generation, factual review, or editing<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Agents Are Now Building the Databases Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks, sees a future where AI agents\u2014not humans\u2014do most of the work in building and managing databases. Speaking about recent industry trends on a CNBC interview, he cited a startling shift: in 2024, only about 30% of newly created databases were the product of AI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":21690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21689"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21689"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21692,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21689\/revisions\/21692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}