Databricks Ventures backs Advancing Analytics growth

Advancing Analytics has received a growth investment from Databricks Ventures, becoming the first UK-headquartered consulting firm backed by Databricks' investment arm.

Tercera also participated in the transaction, adding to a funding base that follows a separate recent investment in Advancing Analytics from Lead Edge Capital.

The London-headquartered data and AI consultancy said the latest funding would deepen its existing relationship with Databricks across engineering and commercial work. The companies plan to work more closely on products including Genie and Lakebase, while expanding customer use of Unity Catalog and Lakehouse tools.

Founded in 2018, Advancing Analytics helps organisations design, modernise and run data and AI platforms using Databricks software. Its customers include Aon, Unilever, Hiscox, Sega, WPP, ASOS, Hershey's, FIS and UK government bodies.

It also holds Gold status in the Databricks Brickbuilder Partner Network and has six Brickbuilder specialisations, a designation held by only a small number of consultancies worldwide.

Broader tie-up

The investment extends a partnership already focused on regulated and data-heavy industries, including financial services, insurance and consumer markets. Advancing Analytics operates in the UK, Portugal and the US.

Part of the tie-up involves Advancing Analytics' LakeForge portfolio, including LakeForge Agents. The tools are used to put data pipelines into production and can cut time to value by a factor of 12, according to the company.

Databricks has been expanding its partner network as companies shift spending from legacy data systems to newer platforms that support analytics and AI work in one place. That trend has increased the importance of consultancies that can help large organisations connect older data estates with newer applications.

Its latest State of Data + AI report showed an 11-fold year-on-year rise in AI model deployments and found that about 70% of companies are exploring generative AI use cases.

Those figures point to a widening market for services firms that can help businesses move from pilot projects to operational systems, particularly in sectors with stricter compliance requirements and more complex data environments.

Kori O'Brien, Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Databricks, described the investment as an extension of an existing working relationship.

"Advancing Analytics has built a reputation for turning ambitious data and AI strategies into systems that deliver value for clients," said Kori O'Brien, Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Databricks.

"Deepening our investment in this partnership means more customers can move from data complexity to real data intelligence, faster and with confidence," O'Brien added.

Expansion plans

The investment gives Advancing Analytics additional backing as it looks to expand its frameworks, specialist staffing and international reach. The company is focused on organisations that need to update large data estates while preparing for broader AI use.

That strategy has drawn investor attention as consultancies closely tied to major software ecosystems seek to benefit from demand for implementation work, rather than software sales alone. For Databricks, investing in firms with established delivery teams can also strengthen adoption of its products among large customers.

Terry McCann, Chief Executive Officer of Advancing Analytics, said the funding would support work that bridges AI ambitions and practical delivery.

"Databricks Ventures' investment is a significant vote of confidence in the platform, the frameworks and the people we've spent years building," said Terry McCann, Chief Executive Officer, Advancing Analytics.

"Combined with our recent investment from Lead Edge Capital, this gives us the resources to go even deeper on Databricks' platform and to keep solving the hard, unglamorous problems that stand between our clients and real AI outcomes," McCann said.