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Databricks Agrees to Acquire Tabular, the Company Founded by the Original Creators of Apache Iceberg

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Databricks and Tabular will work together towards a joint vision of the open lakehouse

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Databricks, the Data and AI company, today announced it has agreed to acquire Tabular, a data management company founded by Ryan Blue, Daniel Weeks, and Jason Reid. By bringing together the original creators of Apache Iceberg™ and Linux Foundation Delta Lake, the two leading open source lakehouse formats, Databricks will lead the way with data compatibility so that organizations are no longer limited by which of these formats their data is in. Databricks intends to work closely with the Delta Lake and Iceberg communities to bring format compatibility to the lakehouse; in the short term, inside Delta Lake UniForm and in the long term, by evolving toward a single, open, and common standard of interoperability. Databricks and Tabular will work together towards a joint vision of the open lakehouse.

The Rise of Lakehouse Architecture and Format Incompatibility

Databricks pioneered the lakehouse architecture in 2020 to enable the integration of traditional data warehousing workloads with AI workloads on a single, governed copy of data. For this to work, all data has to be in an open format so different workloads, applications, and engines could access the same data. Lakehouse architecture maximizes enterprise productivity by democratizing access to data. This is in contrast to proprietary data warehouses where only a proprietary SQL engine can read, write or share the data, and data often has to be copied and exported to be used by other applications, creating a high degree of vendor lock-in. Four years later, 74% of enterprises have deployed a lakehouse architecture.

The foundation of the lakehouse is open source data formats that enable ACID transactions on data stored in object storage. These formats dramatically improve the reliability and performance of data operations on the data lake and were specifically designed for open source engines such as Apache Spark™, Trino and Presto. To address these challenges, Databricks worked with the Linux Foundation to create the Delta Lake project. Since its inception, Delta Lake has over 500 code contributors from a diverse set of organizations, and over 10,000 companies globally use Delta Lake to process 4+ exabytes of data on average each day.

Around the same time Delta Lake was created, Ryan Blue and Daniel Weeks developed the Iceberg project at Netflix and donated it to the Apache Software Foundation. Since then, Delta Lake and Iceberg have emerged as the two leading open source standards for lakehouse formats. Even though both of these formats are based on Apache Parquet and share similar goals and designs, they became incompatible due to independent development.

Over time a number of other open source and proprietary engines have adopted these formats. However, they usually adopted only one of the standards and more often than not, only part of that standard, leading to fragmented and siloed enterprise data, undermining the value of the lakehouse architecture.

The Road to Interoperability

Companies need data interoperability to realize the benefits of the lakehouse, and Databricks will work closely with the Delta Lake and Iceberg communities to bring interoperability to the formats over time. This is a long journey, one that will likely take several years to achieve in those communities. That is why last year, Databricks introduced Delta Lake UniForm. UniForm tables provide interoperability across Delta Lake, Iceberg, and Hudi, and support the Iceberg restful catalog interface so companies can use the analytics engines and tools they are already familiar with, across all their data. Generally available today, UniForm allows companies to achieve compatibility. With the addition of the original Iceberg team, Databricks will greatly broaden the ambitions of Delta Lake UniForm.

“Databricks pioneered the lakehouse and over the past four years, the world has embraced the lakehouse architecture, combining the best of data warehouses and data lakes to help customers decrease TCO, embrace openness, and deliver on AI projects faster. Unfortunately, the lakehouse paradigm has been split between the two most popular formats: Delta Lake and Iceberg. Databricks and Tabular will work with the open-source community to bring the two formats closer to each other over time, increasing openness, and reducing silos and friction for customers,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder and CEO at Databricks. “Last year, we announced Delta Lake UniForm to bring interoperability to these two formats, and we’re thrilled to bring together the foremost leaders in open data lakehouse formats to make UniForm the best way to unify your data for every workload.”

A Shared Commitment to Openness

Databricks and Tabular share a history of championing open source formats. Both companies were founded to commercialize open source technologies created by the founders and today, Databricks is the largest and most successful independent open source company by revenue and has donated 12 million lines of code to open source projects. This acquisition highlights Databricks’ commitment to open formats and open source data in the cloud, helping ensure that companies are in control of their data and free from the lock-in created by proprietary vendor-owned formats.

“We created Apache Iceberg to solve critical data challenges around correctness, performance, and scalability. It’s been amazing to see both Iceberg and Delta Lake grow massively in popularity, largely fueled by the open lakehouse becoming the industry standard. With Tabular joining Databricks, we intend to build the best data management platform based on open lakehouse formats so that companies don’t have to worry about picking the ‘right’ format or getting locked into proprietary data formats,” said Ryan Blue, Co-Founder and CEO at Tabular.

To learn more about Databricks and Tabular joining forces, register to attend the Data + AI Summit, June 10-13: databricks.com/dataaisummit

Details Regarding the Proposed Acquisition

The proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in Databricks’ second fiscal quarter. 

About Tabular

Tabular is the independent data platform built by the original creators of Apache Iceberg. Tabular addresses the pain data engineers and data scientists endure fighting the shortcomings of their data infrastructure. Tabular was founded by Netflix alumni Ryan Blue, Dan Weeks and Jason Reid. Blue also serves as the Iceberg PMC Chair and Weeks is an Iceberg PMC member.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, Shell and over 60% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to take control of their data and put it to work with AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe, and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

Contact: Press@databricks.com

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AI Can Write Research Papers. But Can Researchers Trust the Citations? Wispaper Says That’s the Next Challenge for Academic AI

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SINGAPORE, Aug. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence has transformed academic writing. Today, researchers can summarize hundreds of papers, generate literature reviews, and even draft complete manuscripts in minutes. But as AI becomes an indispensable research tool, a new challenge is emerging: many AI-generated citations cannot be trusted.

Fabricated references, incorrect author names, invalid DOIs, and nonexistent journal articles have become one of the most widely recognized limitations of large language models. While AI dramatically improves writing efficiency, unreliable citations threaten the credibility of research itself.

Wispaper, an AI-powered academic research platform, believes the next generation of academic AI must solve this trust problem—not simply produce more text.

Today, the company announced its next-generation AI Research Agent, together with True Cite, a citation verification system designed to help researchers build papers on authentic, verifiable academic sources instead of AI-generated references.

Unlike conventional AI writing assistants that focus on content generation, Wispaper is built around the complete research process. The platform helps researchers discover research gaps, explore hypotheses, organize literature, and develop stronger scientific arguments before writing begins. Throughout this workflow, True Cite enables users to verify references against real academic publications, helping reduce the risk of citation hallucinations while improving research reliability.

“Everyone is talking about how fast AI can write,” said a Wispaper spokesperson. “We believe the more important question is whether researchers can trust what AI produces. Scientific progress depends on evidence, and evidence begins with trustworthy sources.”

As AI adoption accelerates across universities and research institutions, expectations for academic AI are evolving. Researchers are no longer looking only for writing assistants—they need AI systems that support scientific reasoning while maintaining academic integrity.

By combining reasoning-first research workflows with citation verification, Wispaper aims to redefine the role of AI in academia—from a text generator to a trusted research partner.

About WisPaper

WisPaper is an AI-powered academic research agent designed as a full-stack research accelerator. It supports literature retrieval, analysis, experiment design, execution, and paper writing within a unified workflow, helping researchers manage complex scientific tasks more efficiently across disciplines. For more information, visit https://wispaper.ai/?utm_source=news.

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Persistent Achieves $452.4M Revenue in Q1 FY27 with 16.1% YoY Growth

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Reports EBIT growth of 32.7% YoY and the highest-ever quarterly TCV of $1.15B

SAN JOSE, Calif. and PUNE, India, Aug. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ —

News Summary

Persistent Systems (BSE: 533179) (NSE: PERSISTENT) today announced the Company’s audited financial results for the quarter and year ended June 30, 2026, as approved by the Board of Directors.

Consolidated Financial Highlights for the Quarter ended June 30, 2026:

  Q1FY27   

   Margin %   

   QoQ Growth   

   YoY Growth    

Revenue (USD Million)

452.4

3.8 %

16.1 %

Constant currency growth

4.1 %

16.5 %

Revenue (INR Million)                 

43,032.3

6.1 %

29.1 %

EBIT (INR Million)

6,868.8

16.0 %

4.2 %

32.7 %

PBT (INR Million)

6,231.0

14.5 %

-7.5%*

12.2 %

PAT (INR Million)

4,830.4

11.2 %

-8.7%*

13.7 %

*QoQ decline on account of forex losses

Sandeep Kalra, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Persistent
“We marked our 25th sequential quarter of revenue growth to begin FY27, delivering 3.8% quarter-over-quarter and 16.1% year-over-year revenue growth, along with an EBIT margin of 16.0%.

This performance was underpinned by a record quarterly Total Contract Value (TCV) of $1.15 billion, reflecting continued momentum in larger client engagements, including a 6.5-year strategic services agreement with a leading global technology company with a TCV of more than $650 million.

We signed a Business Combination Agreement with Nagarro, a leading European digital engineering company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This transaction is in line with the M&A strategy we have consistently outlined to strengthen our capabilities and expand our geographic footprint and industry coverage.

As enterprises increasingly look to scale AI across their businesses, we believe the differentiator will not be the model itself, but the ability to create a unified Enterprise Context from business logic, data and enterprise experience embedded across the organization. We continue to invest in this capability through our 3C framework, AI-driven platforms, helping clients build more Intelligent Enterprises, reshape their operating models and realize greater value from AI.

We thank our clients, partners, employees and shareholders for their continued trust and support as we continue to strengthen Persistent for the opportunities ahead.”

First Quarter FY27 Client Wins and Outcomes

The order booking for the quarter ended on June 30, 2026, was $1,146.2 million in Total Contract Value (TCV) and $536.8 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV).

Some of the key wins for the quarter include:

Software, Hi-Tech & Emerging Industries

Driving product development, support and cloud operations across multiple SaaS products using our AI-led platforms to enhance resilience and operational excellence for one of the world’s largest IT companies  

Advancing a global transport technology ecosystem through engineering transformation and scaled global delivery capabilities, strengthening security governance and supporting long-term product innovation for a leading global urban mobility platform provider

Accelerating enterprise transformation across Engineering, Support, IT, Data and Customer functions through global delivery modernization and AI adoption for a leading cloud security company

Banking, Financial Services & Insurance

Modernizing enterprise application landscape of 250+ applications, accelerating AI adoption and data modernization for a leading global insurance claims management and outsourcing services provider

Gen-AI-led reengineering of the trade ledger platform through legacy modernization and transition of platform ownership to client’s environment, strengthening operational control for one of the world’s leading multinational banks

Propelling cloud security transformation through AI-led security implementation and data platform modernization, improving security visibility, risk management and cloud resilience for one of the largest U.S. banks

Healthcare and Life Sciences

Transforming an enterprise ecosystem by consolidating 3,000 bots across 350 business-critical processes onto Microsoft Power Automate, enhancing operational resilience for one of the largest U.S.-based healthcare organizations

Unifying Salesforce, SAP and commercial operations into a standardized customer engagement ecosystem following a strategic acquisition, accelerating governance and business integration for a leading U.S.-based genomics and life sciences company

Building a modern enterprise data platform on Snowflake, integrating clinical, claims and operational systems to enable AI-driven decision-making for a leading U.S.-based provider-led healthcare technology company

Other News in the Quarter

Persistent and Nagarro sign Business Combination Agreement to form the Persistent – Nagarro Group, a global leader in AI-led digital engineering

Persistent entered into a long-term strategic services agreement with a global technology leader, with $650M+ TCV

Persistent achieves Databricks specializations across multiple industry verticals and service lines

Persistent and Kong announce strategic partnership to help enterprises securely move AI into production

Persistent named a Leader in ISG Provider Lens® Digital Engineering Services Midsize Providers Report 2026: U.S. and Europe

Persistent earns top honors for the third consecutive year in Extel’s 2026 Asia Executive Team Survey

About Persistent

Persistent Systems (BSE: 533179) (NSE: PERSISTENT) is a global services and solutions company delivering AI-led, platform-driven Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization to businesses across industries. With over 28,500 employees located in 21 countries, the Company is committed to innovation and client success. Persistent offers a comprehensive suite of services, including software engineering, product development, data and analytics, CX transformation, cloud computing, and agentic business automation. The Company is part of the MSCI India Index and is included in key indices of the National Stock Exchange of India, including the Nifty Midcap 50, Nifty IT, and Nifty MidCap Liquid 15, as well as several on the BSE such as the S&P BSE 100 and S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50. Persistent is also a constituent of the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index. The Company has achieved carbon neutrality, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices. Persistent has also been named one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Inclusion & Diversity 2025 by Newsweek and Plant A Insights Group. As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, the Company is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, as well as take actions that advance societal goals. With a 22% YoY growth in brand value, Persistent has been recognized as the Fastest Growing IT Services brand globally in the 2026 Brand Finance IT Services 25 report, among the world’s Top 25 IT Services brands and ranks as the 12th strongest brand.

www.persistent.com

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

For risks and uncertainties relating to forward-looking statements, please visit persistent.com/FLCS

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In HelloNation, Roofing Expert Jesse Curry Details Licensing, Insurance Coverage, Experience, Local References, Communication, and Project Timelines When Choosing a Roofing Contractor

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The article reviews five factors that can help homeowners evaluate roofing professionals more effectively.

SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What separates a reliable roofing contractor from the rest? A HelloNation article featuring insights from Roofing Expert Jesse Curry of Roofing by Curry in Sarasota, Florida, examines the qualities homeowners should consider before making a hiring decision.

The article explains that a new roof is often one of the most significant investments a homeowner will make. Whether the work involves repairing storm damage or replacing an aging roof, the contractor selected can play a major role in the project’s success. According to the article, focusing solely on price may overlook factors that contribute to quality workmanship, accountability, and long-term value.

Licensing is the first consideration highlighted in the article. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, but proper licensing demonstrates that a contractor has met specific professional and legal standards. The article notes that homeowners should confirm that licensing is current and appropriate for the work being performed before entering into an agreement.

Insurance coverage is equally important. Roofing projects involve inherent risks, and accidents can occur even when jobs are managed professionally. The article explains that contractors should carry insurance coverage that protects both workers and property owners. Liability insurance may help address property damage, while workers’ compensation coverage can reduce potential financial exposure if an injury occurs during the project.

The article also identifies experience as a critical factor when evaluating a roofing contractor. Roofing systems vary considerably, and installation requirements differ depending on the materials involved. Contractors with extensive experience often bring valuable knowledge gained from handling a wide range of roofing conditions and challenges. The article notes that experience can become especially important when hidden issues are uncovered after existing materials are removed.

Another factor discussed is the value of local references. Speaking with previous customers can provide information that goes beyond advertising claims or promotional materials. According to the article, strong local references may offer insight into a contractor’s workmanship, professionalism, and reliability. While reviews should not be the only consideration, they can help homeowners develop a clearer understanding of what to expect throughout the project.

Communication is the fifth major consideration examined in the article. Roofing projects frequently involve scheduling adjustments, material decisions, and unexpected developments. The article explains that contractors who communicate clearly can help homeowners understand the process and remain informed from start to finish. Good communication also reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings and helps establish realistic expectations.

Beyond these five primary factors, the article encourages homeowners to review estimates carefully. Detailed proposals often demonstrate professionalism and transparency. Written estimates should clearly outline the scope of work, materials being used, anticipated project timelines, and any conditions that may influence pricing. Clear documentation allows for more accurate comparisons between contractors and helps homeowners understand what is included in each proposal.

Project timelines are also discussed as an important part of the planning process. Weather conditions, material availability, and project complexity can all affect scheduling. The article notes that reputable contractors are typically willing to discuss expected project timelines and explain potential causes of delays. Honest conversations about scheduling can help homeowners plan appropriately and avoid unnecessary frustration.

The article concludes that choosing a roofing contractor involves much more than selecting the lowest bid. Licensing, insurance coverage, experience, local references, communication, project timelines, and overall professionalism all contribute to a successful outcome. By evaluating each of these areas carefully, homeowners can make informed decisions and feel more confident about both their roofing investment and the contractor they choose.

Top 5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Roofing Contractor features insights from Jesse Curry, Roofing Expert of Sarasota, Florida, in HelloNation.

About HelloNation

HelloNation is America’s Good News Network, a premier media platform built on the idea that good news travels faster when real people tell real stories. Through its community-focused publications and innovative “edvertising” approach, HelloNation delivers content that informs, inspires, and spotlights the leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities.

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