Pengana's AIX portfolio secures exposure to US$190 billion AI leader Databricks, as private equity portfolio build-out continues

ASX-listed AI Private Opportunities Trust ("AIX") has announced that it has acquired another unlisted AI leader. This time, a position in Databricks, the US data and artificial intelligence ("AI") company, as part of the continued buildout of the AIX portfolio, since listing on the ASX on July 2, 2026.

AIX has approximately 8% of its portfolio invested in Databricks, at what Pengana believes to be a significantly attractive entry valuation for unitholders. Databricks is a San Francisco-based data and AI company, founded in 2013, whose platform is widely regarded as one of the most strategically important businesses in AI, used by over 70% of Fortune 500 Companies, and more than 20,000 organisations worldwide to manage their data and build AI applications.

In August 2026, Databricks raised US$5 billion at a US$190 billion valuation. The company crossed a US$7 billion revenue run rate in its most recent quarter, having grown more than 80% year on year. Unusually for a business growing at this pace, it has delivered positive free cash flow over the past year.

The Databricks investment means AIX has already deployed more than one third of its portfolio across key positions including ByteDance, Helsing, Handshake and one of the world's two leading LLM companies, which AIX expects to identify publicly following completion of the relevant processes.

Despite its scale and market leadership, Databricks remains privately held. Opportunities to gain exposure have historically been limited to institutional and specialist private market investors, highlighting the gap filled by AIX in providing Australian investors with access to the private AI economy.

Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, said opportunities to invest in Databricks has historically been limited to institutional and specialist private market investors. "Like many of these private AI market leaders, Databricks is off-limits to most Australian investors.

"AIX aims to fill this gap by providing Australian investors with access to the private AI economy, creating unique exposure to the current and future leaders in AI.

"Databricks is an exciting position which strengthens AIX's exposure to the companies enabling the next phase of AI adoption.

"We believe AI will create significant value well beyond the foundation model companies themselves. Databricks has become one of the world's leading data and AI platforms, helping thousands of organisations build and deploy AI applications at scale."

Mr Pillemer said AIX's focus remains on identifying category-leading private companies across each layer of the AI ecosystem. "Databricks represents exactly the type of business we are seeking to own on behalf of investors, combining strong market leadership, substantial revenue growth and a pivotal role in the global adoption of artificial intelligence."

Databricks bolsters AIX's existing exposure across the global AI ecosystem, in line with its mandate to provide exposure to a curated list of private companies building and enabling across the four quadrants of the AI ecosystem: foundation models; picks and shovels; AI applications; and physical AI.

The Trust's investments are managed by GCM Grosvenor, who is in advanced discussions to close several additional AIX investments in the coming weeks. GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset manager with more than US$91 billion in assets under management, including US$33 billion managed across private equity.