Andrew Ferguson, VP at Databricks Ventures is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.

As AI usage grows and data becomes increasingly valuable as the feedstock for AI, Databricks, the data-intelligence platform provider, is one of the companies in the thick of the action. The Databricks Ventures investment arm is now helping the company expand its role in the growing AI ecosystem.
Founded in 2021, the unit has historically avoided leading rounds, but has more recently started taking a bigger role in startup funding deals, such as the series B fundraising by analytical application platform Cube Dev last year. It puts a premium on strong relationships with co-investors and other stakeholders and invests at early and growth stages, focusing on startups that can use AI on top of or alongside Databricks’ data-intelligence platform.
“We have been able to develop really good relationships with VCs that are investing in and around the data ecosystem, and often they are the ones that are coming to us asking us to participate in rounds that they are leading because they see the value that Databricks Ventures can provide to the company in a financing round,” Andrew Ferguson told GCV in 2023, just over a year after the unit formed.
We have been able to develop really good relationships with VCs that are investing in and around the data ecosystem, and often they are the ones that are coming to us asking us to participate in rounds that they are leading
“Some of it is market signalling, sort of a stamp of approval from Databricks as a leader in the data and analytics space.”
Databricks Ventures made around nine investments in its first year and has continued deploying capital at pace since. Early last year, Databricks launched a second fund under the unit’s auspices, focused on backing AI startups – the Databricks AI Fund – to complement its inaugural Lakehouse Fund.
Most recently, it backed data contracts collaboration platform provider Gable, AI platform provider for video products Twelve Labs, IT consulting company Koantek, AI development platform providers Galileo and Braintrust Data, AI search technology developer Voyage AI, and World Labs, a startup
Ferguson joined Databricks in 2020 as VP for corporate development, prior to which he spent seven years at observability platform provider New Relic, first as head of corporate development, then as vice president for strategy and development. He also served a six-year stint as director for corporate development at eBay.

The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.