Arsalan Tavakoli-shiraji on AI competition
From Databricks co-founder Arsalan Tavakoli speaks to the BBC · · Vandhna Bhan
“Yeah look I think I would consider frankly Anthropic and OpenAI partners as opposed to competitors. When you look at it, the world clearly needs really really good foundation models and they have done a great job of building incredible foundation models but as I mentioned early there's a couple of challenges one people are starting to look at it from a cost perspective a do I need the most powerful model for everything right and the answer is no you really want the right model for the right use case and we see that over three fourths of our customers use more than one foundation model provider.”
On , Arsalan Tavakoli-shiraji, Cofounder at Databricks, spoke about AI competition during Databricks co-founder Arsalan Tavakoli speaks to the BBC on Vandhna Bhan.
About Arsalan Tavakoli-shiraji
In a December 2025 BBC interview, Databricks co-founder Arsalan Tavakoli stated that the company's IPO is a matter of "when, not if," but said the company is "not really in a rush." He noted that Databricks does not face challenges with public awareness, access to capital, or employee liquidity, and that the company's focus remains on serving customers. Tavakoli described AI as "both transformative and overhyped," saying he agrees with both characterizations. He warned that the market is beginning to overheat, with some believing "the answer to everything is AI." Despite broader tech layoffs, Tavakoli said Databricks continues to hire at a "healthy clip," citing strong customer demand and the belief that AI will increase productivity. He characterized Anthropic and OpenAI as partners rather than competitors, arguing that enterprises need the right model for each use case rather than the most powerful one.