[Databricks Data + AI Summit 2026] Agentic AI Data Platform Strategy

Databricks is expanding the role of the data platform in the Agentic AI era, moving beyond simple storage and analysis to become the execution foundation for AI Agents. For Agents to deliver real value in enterprise environments, Context — including relationships between data, business terminology, and metric definitions — and Control, which manages permissions and policies, are essential.

To this end, Databricks unveiled Lakehouse//RT and Lakebase. Lakehouse//RT is built on the new Reyden engine and delivers millisecond-level response performance without moving data, while Lakebase is a Serverless Postgres for Agent applications that serves as the operational data layer.

Databricks also introduced Genie, an AI Assistant that provides data insights in natural language and can be extended into workflow automation, and Genie Ontology, which helps Agents understand a company's own terminology and processes — supporting genuine business context understanding that goes beyond simple document search.