Databricks & Google Cloud Forge AI Partnership

Databricks and Google Cloud are deepening their collaboration, focusing on leveraging Google's Gemini models within the Databricks Lakehouse Platform. This move aims to simplify and secure the development and deployment of generative AI applications for enterprise clients.

The partnership, highlighted at Google Cloud Next 2026, builds on a foundation established in 2021, with over 2,500 joint customers. The focus has shifted from cloud migration to enabling businesses to extract maximum value from proprietary data using AI.

A key development is Databricks becoming a first-party provider for Gemini AI Startups: Google's AI Ecosystem Play, offering native access to Gemini model APIs outside of Google's Vertex AI. This allows customers to build, customize, and deploy agentic AI on governed enterprise data without moving it or managing infrastructure.

This direct API access enables Databricks users to control the entire AI lifecycle, from data preparation to production inference. Since the integration's launch, Gemini models on Databricks have experienced over 55% quarter-over-quarter growth, powering use cases like code generation, data analysis, and customer support.

The companies are also collaborating on joint customer workshops and solution design sessions to drive measurable AI impact.

Enterprises are increasingly prioritizing rapid AI deployment. By unifying data on Google Cloud infrastructure with Databricks' intelligence layer, customers report faster time-to-market and improved operational efficiency. This momentum is reflected in an 85% year-over-year growth in Google Cloud consumption driven by GenAI workloads.

The Google Cloud Marketplace serves as a significant on-ramp, with Databricks generating over 4,000 Marketplace sign-ups in the past year.

Co-innovation extends to infrastructure, with support for Google Axion (ARM) processors promising improved price-performance for large-scale data workloads.

Joint customers are already realizing benefits. Mondelēz and PetSmart are deploying enterprise-grade GenAI models grounded in governed data. Digital Turbine achieved significant monthly savings and reduced infrastructure overhead by modernizing analytics with Databricks SQL Serverless on Google Cloud.

Dun & Bradstreet accelerated deployment by weeks using the Google Cloud Marketplace to access Databricks' ML capabilities, bypassing lengthy procurement processes.

Companies like Logically and Epsilon are scaling operations globally while adhering to strict regional data residency requirements, leveraging Databricks' expanded footprint in areas like Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

A global manufacturer improved pipeline reliability and accelerated critical analytics delivery by 30% using Lakeflow-powered pipelines to consolidate legacy ETL tools.

The collaboration underscores a future where AI is governed, open, and agentic.

Databricks and Google Cloud are presenting their joint innovations at Google Cloud Next ’26, offering demos of Unity Catalog and Gemini powering agentic workflows. They are also hosting 1:1 strategy sessions and a joint happy hour with NVIDIA and Glean.

Databricks on Google Cloud provides an open, governed lakehouse, a rapidly expanding serverless platform, and deep integration with Google Cloud's AI, including native Gemini models. This combination is designed to support the next wave of intelligent applications.

To get started, Databricks offers a free $400 trial on Google Cloud Marketplace, allowing users to explore serverless workspaces and sample workloads across data engineering, analytics, and AI. Engaging with Databricks and Google Cloud teams can help define optimal workloads and plan for security and governance needs.

The next wave of intelligent applications will be built at the intersection of governed data and powerful AI, a space Databricks on Google Cloud is ready to support today.