Databricks acquires spreadsheet platform Row Zero to expand AI coworker Genie
New Delhi, Sept 25 (TNT): Data and AI company Databricks on Friday announced the acquisition of Row Zero, a spreadsheet platform designed to enable humans and AI agents to work together with data.
The acquisition will expand the capabilities of Databricks’ AI coworker, Genie, allowing business teams to explore, model and collaborate on data through a familiar spreadsheet interface, the company said.
The spreadsheet experience will operate on a governed data foundation powered by Genie Ontology, Unity Catalog and Unity Gateway.
Databricks said spreadsheets remain widely used for business analytics and decision-making, but their use also creates security and governance challenges when data is copied into ungoverned files and shared across teams.
Row Zero addresses this gap by connecting spreadsheets directly to live, governed data.
Users can work with data through familiar formulas, pivot tables and keyboard shortcuts while maintaining enterprise security and governance controls.
The platform will be integrated into the Databricks Data + AI Platform, including Genie on the web as well as desktop and mobile applications.
This will allow users to move from conversational interactions to hands-on data analysis, modelling and visualisation.
“Genie is helping make every knowledge worker dramatically more productive and impactful. As more finance, operations, and go-to-market teams adopt Genie, incorporating a seamless spreadsheet experience is a must-have,” Databricks Co-founder and Vice President of Engineering Patrick Wendell said.
Row Zero offers compatibility with leading spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, direct integration with data sources, permission-based queries, automatic data refreshes and auditable interactions.
Its data processing engine is also designed to allow business users to work with billions of rows of data at interactive speeds, the company said.
Row Zero Founder and CEO Breck Fresen said joining Databricks would accelerate the company’s vision of providing business users with a secure, connected and scalable spreadsheet integrated with AI agents.
The Row Zero team, founded by former AWS and Tableau engineers, will join Databricks and continue working on Genie capabilities.
Row Zero will be made available to Databricks customers across major cloud platforms and will continue to support data sources beyond Databricks, the company added.
TNT KM
