SAN FRANCISCO — September 24, 2026: Databricks has acquired Row Zero, a spreadsheet platform designed to help business users and AI agents work directly with enterprise data.
The acquisition is expected to expand the capabilities of Genie, Databricks’ AI coworker, by adding a familiar spreadsheet environment where teams can explore data, build models and collaborate while maintaining enterprise security and governance.
With Row Zero, Genie will combine conversational AI with spreadsheet-based analysis, allowing business teams to move from asking questions about data to hands-on modelling, pivoting and visualization within a governed environment.
Bringing Spreadsheets Into Enterprise AI
Spreadsheets have remained a core business analytics tool for decades because of their flexibility and familiar formulas.
Finance, sales, operations and marketing teams routinely use spreadsheets to analyse performance, build forecasts and make business decisions. However, these workflows can create governance challenges when data is exported from enterprise systems into standalone spreadsheet files.
Databricks describes these ungoverned files as “spreadmarts” — copies of enterprise data that can exist outside the organisation’s formal data and security controls.
The challenge becomes more significant as companies deploy AI agents capable of analysing and acting on business information.
If agents operate on data with unclear lineage, permissions or quality, organisations can face additional security and governance risks.
Row Zero’s approach
Row Zero is designed to connect spreadsheets directly to live, governed enterprise data.
Its integration with Databricks technologies including Genie Ontology, Unity Catalog and Unity Gateway is intended to allow business users to maintain the flexibility of spreadsheets while working within enterprise data governance frameworks.
According to Databricks, queries can respect individual user permissions, data can refresh automatically from authoritative sources, exports can be restricted and results can be written back into systems.
The company also says interactions are auditable, allowing businesses to maintain visibility into how data is being accessed and used.
From Chat to Spreadsheet-Based Analysis
Genie is designed to help business teams turn enterprise data into answers and actions.
For example, Databricks says Genie can help users investigate why margins changed or generate documents related to sales pipeline opportunities.
The Row Zero acquisition extends that experience beyond conversational interaction.
Users will be able to move from AI-driven questions to spreadsheet-based analysis, including pivoting, modelling and visualization.
Databricks says Row Zero will natively integrate with its Data + AI Platform, including Genie across web, desktop and mobile applications.
Patrick Wendell: Spreadsheet Experience Is Essential
Patrick Wendell, Co-founder and VP of Engineering at Databricks, said the growing adoption of Genie among finance, operations and go-to-market teams makes a seamless spreadsheet experience an important addition.
“Genie is helping make every knowledge worker dramatically more productive and impactful.”
Wendell added that the Row Zero team will help Databricks continue developing Genie into an AI coworker for enterprise teams.
Three Capabilities Databricks Is Bringing Together
The acquisition combines spreadsheet familiarity with enterprise data infrastructure and AI agents.
1. Familiar Spreadsheet Workflows
Row Zero is designed to work alongside widely used spreadsheet products such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Users can work with familiar:
- Formulas
- Pivot tables
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Spreadsheet workflows
This allows existing spreadsheet skills and assets to remain part of the workflow.
2. Governed Access to Enterprise Data
Rather than relying on manually exported or outdated datasets, Row Zero can connect directly to live data sources.
According to Databricks, the platform supports:
- Permission-aware queries
- Automatic data refresh
- Controlled exports
- Writing results back to data systems
- Auditable interactions
- Security controls that remain connected to the data
This addresses one of the central challenges of bringing AI agents into business workflows: ensuring that the information being analysed remains governed and traceable.
3. Large-Scale Data Processing
Row Zero also brings a data-processing engine designed to allow business users to work with billions of rows at interactive speeds.
That capability is intended to extend spreadsheet-style analysis beyond the scale typically associated with traditional desktop spreadsheet workflows.
Row Zero Founder: Joining Databricks Accelerates the Vision
Breck Fresen, Founder and CEO of Row Zero, said the company was created around the idea that spreadsheets should connect more seamlessly with enterprise-scale data while maintaining security and governance.
He said joining Databricks will accelerate the company’s goal of delivering a spreadsheet experience that is secure, connected, scalable and integrated with AI agents.
The Row Zero team was founded by former AWS and Tableau engineers and will join Databricks following the acquisition.
What the Acquisition Means for Enterprise AI
The transaction points to a broader shift in how businesses may interact with AI.
Instead of replacing familiar business applications entirely, AI is increasingly being embedded inside the workflows employees already understand.
The emerging model looks something like:
Enterprise Data → AI Agent → Spreadsheet → Human Analysis → Decision
This approach could be particularly relevant for finance, operations, sales and marketing teams, where spreadsheets remain deeply embedded in everyday decision-making.
The governance layer is equally important. As AI agents gain the ability to analyse data and potentially take actions, organisations need visibility into what data an agent accessed, what it did and how its outputs were generated.
Databricks is positioning the Row Zero integration around that combination of flexibility and control.
Availability Across Major Clouds
Databricks said Row Zero will be available to all Databricks customers across major cloud platforms.
The platform will also continue supporting data sources beyond Databricks, giving customers the ability to work with a broader range of enterprise data environments.
The Bigger Picture
The Databricks-Row Zero deal reflects a growing convergence between AI agents, enterprise data and familiar productivity software.
For years, spreadsheets have provided business users with flexibility but often at the cost of centralised governance. Enterprise data platforms, meanwhile, have offered stronger controls but can require specialised technical skills.
By bringing the two together with AI, Databricks is attempting to bridge that gap.
The longer-term question will be how effectively businesses can combine AI automation, human decision-making and governed enterprise data without sacrificing the flexibility that made spreadsheets so widely adopted in the first place.
For Databricks, Row Zero adds another interface to its broader Data + AI Platform — one designed not just for AI agents, but for the people working alongside them.
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Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape. She has written extensively on fintech, AI and emerging startups.