Databricks expands Microsoft Azure partnership, to use more custom chips

July 23 : Databricks said on Thursday it would expand its partnership with Microsoft through the 2030s, a deal under which it will increase its use of the Azure platform and Microsoft's custom chips.Databricks offers a platform that helps users ingest, analyze and build AI applications using complex data from various sources. One of the most valuable private companies, the San Francisco-based firm's move marks a sizeable win for Microsoft's Azure cloud business and comes as enterprise AI adoption accelerates.Databricks said it would increase Azure usage to run its own core business operations and analytics, and also boost its usage of Azure Cobalt, Microsoft's Arm-based custom processors, for data-intensive and agentic AI workloads. Under the partnership, Microsoft will also continue integ