Databricks to Invest More Than $500M in the Netherlands to Accelerate Enterprise Data + AI

• Advances Lakebase, Genie and Unity Gateway: Databricks equips agents with the context, control, cost optimization, and choice enterprises in the Netherlands need to build and scale AI
• Expands its largest European R&D hub in Amsterdam: Databricks expects to double its Netherlands team, scaling support for customers like ABN Amro, AkzoNobel, Heineken, PostNL, Shell, UMC Utrecht and more
• Plans to train more than 40,000 people by 2030: Databricks plans to train students and professionals in data and AI skills across the Netherlands by 2030

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - NOVEMBER 10, 2026 - Databricks, the Data and AI company, today announced plans to invest more than $500 million USD in the Netherlands over the next three years. The commitment will expand its largest R&D hub in Europe, with plans to double its local team as demand for Lakebase,Genie and Unity Gateway grows. The company also opened its 13,000 SQM, 11-storey office in The Rock tower and set a goal to train more than 40,000 people in data and AI skills by 2030.

The investment underscores the Netherlands' role as a strategic EMEA market at a pivotal moment. Dutch businesses are adopting AI fast, and leading organizations such as ABN Amro, AkzoNobel, Heineken, PostNL, Shell and UMC Utrecht are already driving real impact by scaling data and AI with Databricks. With a larger local presence, Databricks will deepen its support for customers and help more Dutch businesses close the gap from AI pilot to production, working closely with its partner ecosystem, universities and early-stage startups.

Giving AI Agents the Context, Control, Cost Optimization, and Choice to Deliver Business Impact

AI agents are spreading rapidly across Dutch enterprises, but most still struggle to answer basic business questions accurately. The context they need is fragmented across systems and trapped in people's heads. AI fills those gaps with confident, often inaccurate, guesswork that wastes time and tokens. The Databricks Data + AI Platform gives companies a foundation built for agents with context, control, cost optimization and choice, including:

• Lakebase: A serverless Postgres database built for AI apps and agents
• Unity Gateway: A multi-AI control plane delivering governance, smart routing, and cost controls
• Genie< /a>: An AI coworker that turns business data into trusted answers and actions, grounded by Genie Ontology, a self-improving context layer built on the definitions, metrics, and sources the business already trusts.

"Genie Ontology captures how our customers, products and materials relate to each other. We can ask time-sensitive, business-critical questions and get answers grounded in our own business context such as: 'Which customers are at risk?' or 'Why did we have a spike in February?' We are also using Genie to trigger agentic responses. For example, we have been able to find alternative raw materials that match certain specifications, and develop models that screen over 120 million molecules to find waterborne replacements for current chemical compounds. With the semantic layer in Databricks we are able to give these workflows a shared understanding of our business, and the results are really moving the needle for us, " said Kurt De Ruwe, Chief Information Officer, AkzoNobel.

Expanding Databricks' Largest R&D Hub in Europe

Teams at The Rock in Amsterdam are developing key areas of the Databricks Data + AI Platform, including Genie ZeroOps, an AI agent that monitors production workloads, investigates issues and suggests fixes, and Databricks Apps, a fast, secure way to build data and AI applications with your enterprise context. The Amsterdam-based Developer Experience team is also building the internal systems that help Databricks' own engineers move faster with agents, fueling the company's growth.

"Amsterdam is the beating heart of our European R&D efforts. From The Rock, our teams are building critical components of the Data + AI Platform - from intelligent AI agents that keep production workloads running smoothly, to new tools that make it faster and easier to build data and AI applications. This investment fuels our ability to push the boundaries of what's possible, right here in the Netherlands," said Anderson Imes, Amsterdam Site Lead, Databricks.

Training More Than 40,000 People in the Netherlands to build careers in Data and AI

Despite rising AI adoption,the skills barrier still remains one of the top reasons as to why AI cannot scale further in Dutch organizations. To help address this, Databricks plans to equip more than 40,000 people with data and AI skills, including data engineering, analytics, machine learning, and generative AI, by 2030. This initiative includes:

• Free Hands-On Access for Students and Educators: Educators and students from academic institutions, including Eindhoven University of Technology and The Hague University of Applied Sciences use Databricks Free Edition, which gives learners valuable hands-on experience building with data and AI.
• Free Self-Paced Learning: Accessible, world-class digital training for professionals interested in gaining or advancing their skills to keep pace with new technologies entering the workplace.

"The Netherlands has the ambition and strong AI talent pool to become one of Europe's leading hubs for enterprise AI," said Kevin Jonkergouw, RVP, Benelux, Databricks. "Organizations across Benelux are moving fast from AI pilots to production, but doing so successfully requires trusted context, governance, and cost controls. This investment will support our customers to build AI agents and apps that can operate at scale."

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide - including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever and 70% of the Fortune 500 - rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to unify their data, analytics and AI. Built on an open source foundation, the platform gives teams a simple way to build AI that understands their business context. The platform includes the products Lakebase, Genie, Unity Gateway, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Instagram.

Contact: [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What is Databricks announcing in the Netherlands?

Databricks plans to invest more than $500 million USD in the Netherlands over the next three years. The investment will expand its largest R&D hub in Europe, in Amsterdam, and Databricks plans to double its local team. Databricks has also opened a 13,000 SQM, 11-storey office in The Rock tower, and it aims to train more than 40,000 people in the Netherlands in data and AI skills by 2030.

Q. Why is Databricks investing in the Netherlands?

The Netherlands is a strategic EMEA market for Databricks, and Dutch businesses are adopting AI fast. Organizations such as ABN Amro, AkzoNobel, Heineken, PostNL, Shell and UMC Utrecht already scale data and AI with Databricks. A larger local presence means Databricks can support customers more closely and help more Dutch businesses move AI from pilot to production, working with partners, universities and early-stage startups.

Q. How does Databricks help Dutch enterprises build and scale AI agents?

The Databricks Data + AI Platform gives agents the context, control, cost optimization and choice they need to deliver business impact. It includes:

• Lakebase: a serverless Postgres database built for AI apps and agents.
• Unity Gateway: a multi-AI control plane for governance, smart routing and cost controls.
• Genie: an AI coworker that turns business data into trusted answers and actions. It's grounded by Genie Ontology, a self-improving context layer built on the definitions, metrics and sources the business already trusts.

Q. What is Databricks building at its Amsterdam R&D hub?

Teams at The Rock in Amsterdam are building key parts of the Databricks Data + AI Platform:

• Genie ZeroOps: an AI agent that monitors production workloads, investigates issues and suggests fixes.
• Databricks Apps: a fast, secure way to build data and AI applications with enterprise context.

The Amsterdam Developer Experience team also builds the internal systems that help Databricks engineers move faster with agents.

Q. How will Databricks train 40,000 people in the Netherlands by 2030?

Databricks will teach data engineering, analytics, machine learning and generative AI skills through two routes:

• Free hands-on access to Databricks Free Edition for students and educators at institutions such as Eindhoven University of Technology and The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
• Free self-paced digital training for professionals