THE ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRE

ALI GHODSI WAS HAPPILY RESEARCHING AI AT BERKELEY WHEN HE HELPED INVENT A REVOLUTIONARY BIT OF CODE— AND HE WANTED TO GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE. BUT FEW WOULD TAKE IT UNLESS HE CHARGED FOR IT. NOW HIS STARTUP IS WORTH $28 BILLION, AND THE CAREER ACADEMIC IS A BILLIONAIRE WITH A REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE BEST CEOS IN THE VALLEY.

- KENRICK CAI

INSIDE A 13THFLOOR BOARDROOM IN DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO, THE ATMOSPHERE WAS TENSE.

It was November 2015, and Databricks, a two-year-old software company started by a group of seven Berkeley researchers, was long on buzz but short on revenue.

The directors awkwardly broached subjects that had been rehashed time and again. The startup had been trying to raise funds for five months, but venture capitalists were keeping it at arm’s length, wary of its paltry sales. Seeing no other option, NEA partner Pete Sonsini, an existing investor, raised his hand to save the company with an emergency $30 million injection.

Data Doctors

Databrick’s seven cofounders—six of whom have Ph.D.s in computer science—first worked together in UC Berkeley artificial-intelligence research labs. (Standing, from left) Arsalan Tavakoli, 37, who leads field engineering; Ion Stoica, 56, executive chairman and the original CEO; Andy Konwinski, 37, vice president of product management; Reynold Xin, 35, chief software architect; Patrick Wendell, 32, vice president of engineering. (Sitting, from left) Ali Ghodsi, 42, CEO; Matei Zaharia, 36, chief technologist. “We always considered ourselves the Berkeley mafia,” Ghodsi says.