Databricks' 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.
TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD FOR FORBES
