Your Databricks equity keeps growing. Your plan should keep up.
A $190 billion valuation, RSUs piling up, and a CEO who called 2026 a terrible year to go public. I'm a queer financial planner who works on equity compensation. Together we'll get clear on what your shares are really worth to you after tax, and build a plan that moves you toward financial freedom, whenever the IPO comes.
Private · $190B valuation, Aug 2026 · no IPO filing yet · Updated October 2026
Book a free intro callHow should Databricks employees plan for their equity before an IPO?
Start by listing every grant and what it would be worth after tax, not just at the headline valuation. If your RSUs only settle at a liquidity event, plan now for a large wage-income year later. Then decide how much Databricks you want to own long term and build savings outside the company in the meantime. A fee-only fiduciary can model this with your partner, family plans and cost of living.
What Databricks employees are dealing with right now
If some of these sound familiar, you're not behind. Each one is a problem a clear plan is built to solve.
A valuation that keeps jumping
Databricks went from $134 billion to $190 billion in about six months. Your net worth on paper may be growing faster than your plan, your savings or your sense of what's real.
How we handle it: We work out what your shares are worth to you after tax, so your plan is built on numbers you can actually use.
An IPO that keeps moving out
The CEO said in June, "We will be a public company. I just think this is a terrible year to go public." A 2027 listing isn't promised either, so your biggest asset has no date attached to it.
How we handle it: We build a plan that works if the IPO is next year or several years away.
RSUs that pile up without cash
If your RSUs only settle when there's a liquidity event, years of vesting can land as wages in a single year. That can mean a very large tax bill all at once, and default withholding often falls short.
How we handle it: We model that liquidity year now, and plan how you'll cover the gap before it arrives.
Selling only when the company says you can
Until Databricks is public, you can usually sell only when the company offers a share sale, and outside transfers are restricted. That makes it hard to plan a home purchase or a family around your equity.
How we handle it: We build cash and investments outside Databricks, so your big life plans don't wait on the next sale window.
Where you live changes the math
Databricks has offices in San Francisco, Mountain View, Seattle, Bellevue and New York. California taxes high earners at up to 13.3%. Washington has no tax on wages but does tax large long-term capital gains.
How we handle it: We look at where your shares vested and where you plan to live before any sale, so a move doesn't surprise you.
New grants that keep you tied in
Refresh grants can make leaving feel more expensive every year, even when you want a break, a new role, or more time with your family.
How we handle it: We put a real number on what leaving would cost, so staying is a choice and not a trap.
What's happened at Databricks so far
Jun 4, 2026
CEO Ali Ghodsi told Bloomberg Television, "We will be a public company. I just think this is a terrible year to go public." (SmartAsset)
Aug 13, 2026
Databricks closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, up from $134 billion about six months earlier, and reported a revenue run-rate above $7 billion. (CoinCentral)
Oct 2026
Databricks remains private, with no announced IPO date and no public S-1. Public SEC records show only private-offering filings. (SmartAsset)
You're early. There's no filing and no date, which means you have time to plan before the decisions get urgent. The choices you make now, like where you live, how much you keep in savings outside the company, and how you'll handle a large wage-income year, are much easier to get right before an IPO is on the calendar.
Why it helps to work with someone who gets it
Most advisors who work with tech employees understand stock options. Fewer understand queer families, chosen family, and the legal gaps we still plan around. I'm part of this community, so you can tell me the whole story from the first meeting. That openness is where clarity comes from, because a plan is only as good as what it's built on.
You won't have to edit your story
With a new advisor, many queer people quietly decide how much to share: who your partner is, why you don't talk to a parent, why the standard estate plan doesn't fit. Here you can start with the real version. A plan built on the full picture is the only kind that holds up.
Your partner is a full partner, married or not
If you're not married, your partner has no automatic claim to your Databricks equity, your 401(k), or your accounts. Beneficiary designations, a will, and, where it fits, a revocable trust make sure the person you chose actually inherits what you've built.
Chosen family counts
Maybe you help support a friend, a sibling or an elder in the community. Maybe the people you'd name in your will aren't the ones the law would pick. We plan for the family you actually have, including who makes medical and financial decisions if you can't.
Family building on your own timeline
Surrogacy, IVF and adoption can run well into six figures. A liquidity event is often when queer couples can finally say yes. We match share sales to family-building costs and check your employer's fertility and family benefits first.
The cost of living where you feel safe
Many of us pay more to live where we feel safe and seen: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, LA. Those cities come with high housing costs and state income taxes. Your equity plan has to fund the life you can actually live there, not a national-average budget.
Health care that fits your life
If you or your partner are planning gender-affirming care, we budget for coverage gaps, out-of-network care and recovery time, and look at how changing jobs after a liquidity event could affect your coverage.
Where a clear plan can take you
- 01
Clarity
We bring every grant, account and goal into one picture, including your partner's. You'll know what you own, what it's worth after tax, and what it can pay for.
- 02
A written plan
We agree on rules for how much to sell, when, and why. Taxes are set aside before they're due, so nothing catches you off guard.
- 03
Freedom
Your Databricks equity can start funding the life you want, and big decisions get easier because the hard thinking is already done.
What freedom could look like for you
A home that's yours
Buy in the neighborhood where you feel at home, with a down payment from a sale you planned, not one you rushed.
A family, when you're ready
Pay for IVF, surrogacy or adoption without draining your emergency fund or putting off the decision another year.
Staying at Databricks because you want to
Know your number, so your job is something you choose. A sabbatical, a new role or your own company becomes a real option.
Taking care of your people
Support a partner, chosen family and the causes you care about, on terms you set and can keep up.
The details we'll work through together
Plan the liquidity year in advance
When a large block of RSUs settles at once, it all counts as wages that year. We estimate the federal and state tax, set aside the difference from default withholding, and look at what you can do that same year to lower the bill.
The withholding gap
RSUs and tender proceeds are usually withheld at the 22% federal supplemental rate (37% above $1 million). If you're in the 32%, 35% or 37% bracket — plus California's 13.3% top rate or New York's — that gap can become a five- or six-figure April surprise. We set aside the difference the week the shares settle.
Washington vs. California
If you live in Washington, there's no tax on wages, but long-term capital gains above the state threshold are taxed. If you've lived in California while your RSUs vested, California may tax part of that income even after you move. We map it out before you sell.
Too much of one company
When one stock is most of your net worth, a single bad quarter can change your plans. We build a written, rules-based selling plan — how much, when, and why — so you're not making the call on a stressful trading day. We stay neutral on the company and keep the plan focused on your goals.
Giving with appreciated shares
Donating low-basis shares to a donor-advised fund in a high-income year lets you deduct the market value and skip the capital gains. Starting in 2026, the OBBBA adds a 0.5%-of-AGI floor on itemized charitable gifts and caps the deduction's value at 35% for top-bracket filers, so timing and bunching gifts matters more than before.
Where Databricks teams live
San Francisco Bay Area
Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco and also has a Mountain View office, so many employees live in the city, the East Bay or down the Peninsula.
Seattle area
Databricks has offices in both Seattle and Bellevue, so many employees live in Capitol Hill, Ballard and across the Eastside.
New York City
Databricks has a New York office near Bryant Park, so many employees live in Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and Brooklyn.
Every meeting is virtual, so you can work with me wherever your team sends you.
A planner who understands your life and your equity
I'm Taylor, Founder & Financial Planner at Aequitas Financial. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I work with queer professionals whose net worth is tied up in company equity.
Aequitas is fee-only, and I act as a fiduciary. I don't earn commissions, I'm not paid by your employer, and I don't sell insurance or products. You can ask me anything, and I'll give you a straight answer, including when the answer is "I'd wait" or "that's a question for your attorney."
My goal is that you leave every meeting clearer than you came in: you'll know what we're doing, why, and what comes next.
I coordinate with your CPA and estate attorney. I'm not a CPA, so tax filing stays with your tax professional; my job is to plan ahead so their work has fewer surprises.
Questions from Databricks employees
Keep reading: equity compensation for LGBTQ+ professionals, ISOs and the AMT, concentrated stock strategies, and other company pages: Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, Anduril, Stripe.
Aequitas Financial is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or compensated by Databricks. Company news above is drawn from the public sources linked and is current as of October 2026. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
This page is part of our wider guide to LGBTQ+ financial planning — how fee-only, fiduciary planning works for queer households, and which topic to start with.