Analytics and Data Science News for the Week of August 8; Updates from Databricks, Qbeast, Power BI & More

Solutions Review Executive Editor Tim King curated this list of notable analytics and data science news for the week of August 8, 2025.

Keeping tabs on all the most relevant analytics and data science news can be a time-consuming task. As a result, our editorial team aims to provide a summary of the top headlines from the last week in this space. Solutions Review editors will curate vendor product news, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital funding, talent acquisition, and other noteworthy analytics and data science news items.

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Analytics and Data Science News for the Week of August 8, 2025

Databricks Introduces OpenAI’s New Open Models (gpt-oss 20B and 120B) on Their Platform

Databricks has partnered with OpenAI to launch two new open-weight models—gpt-oss 20B and gpt-oss 120B—available natively on the Databricks platform across AWS, Azure, and GCP via the Foundation Model API. These models support advanced reasoning and tool use, offering enterprise users more flexibility and customization options compared to proprietary models.

Read the full story: https://www.databricks.com/blog/introducing-openais-new-open-models-databricks

DataRobot Now Available as SAP-Endorsed AI App in SAP Store

DataRobot is now officially an SAP-endorsed application and available in the SAP Store. SAP customers can harness DataRobot’s advanced AI and ML capabilities within SAP environments, enabling smarter automation and analytics. This expands enterprise AI adoption on a trusted platform with seamless integration.

Read the full story: https://www.datarobot.com/newsroom/press/datarobot-now-an-sap-endorsed-app-available-on-sap-store/

Microsoft Power BI: Standalone Copilot Experience Enabled by Default Starting September 2025

Microsoft will enable the standalone Copilot experience in Power BI by default beginning on or after September 5, 2025, for all tenants where Copilot is already turned on. Known as “Chat with your data,” this full-screen, chat-based AI interface allows users to ask questions and get answers across any report, semantic model, or Fabric data agent they have access to, providing a unified, cross-report data exploration experience. This update enhances user interaction with data beyond traditional report views, making insights more accessible via natural language queries.

Read the full story: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/the-standalone-copilot-in-power-bi-will-be-turned-on-by-default-in-september/

Qbeast Secures $7.6M Seed to Supercharge Open Data Platform Efficiency

Qbeast, a next-generation data optimization platform, has raised $7.6 million in seed funding to accelerate open Lakehouse analytics. Their multi-dimensional indexing dramatically reduces compute waste in open data formats like Delta Lake, Iceberg, and Hudi—delivering up to 6x faster queries and up to 70% lower compute costs in production.

Read the full story: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/08/04/3126675/0/en/Qbeast-secures-7-6M-in-seed-funding-to-help-open-data-platforms-scale-efficiently.html

Qlik Survey Shows Generative AI Tools Rapidly Transforming Enterprise Workflows

New Qlik survey results reveal that generative AI tools—like ChatGPT integrated via Qlik’s OpenAI connectors—are reshaping how businesses handle analytics and decision-making. Organizations report tangible gains in productivity, insight quality, and workflow speed, harnessing both structured and unstructured data for competitive advantage.

Read the full story: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/qlik-survey-generative-ai-tools-123000772.html

Redpanda Partners with Databricks to Deliver Unified Streaming for Modern Data Stacks

Redpanda and Databricks have joined forces to offer a unified, high-performance streaming solution, integrating Redpanda streaming with Databricks Lakehouse. Enterprises can unlock fast, simplified data streams for real-time analytics, AI, and business intelligence—without the complexity of legacy architectures.

Read the full story: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/redpanda-partners-databricks-deliver-one-130000777.html

For consideration in future analytics and data science news roundups, send your announcements to the editor: tking@solutionsreview.com.