Salesforce splashes the cash with $8 billion deal for Informatica

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff pictured at Dreamforce 2024, held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. — (Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Salesforce has announced plans to acquire Informatica in a deal valued at $8 billion as the firm continues with its AI focus.

In a statement confirming the acquisition, Salesforce said the deal will enhance its data management capabilities and will complement its agentic AI service.

Salesforce launched its Agentforce service in September last year, which gives users access to a range of autonomous AI agents focused on various areas, including customer service, HR, and recruitment.

The firm has even touted the use of AI agents to support frontline trade workers in recent months. More than 1,000 deals have been struck with enterprises for the Agentforce service since it launched, according to Salesforce.

“The combination of Informatica’s rich data catalog, data integration, governance, quality and privacy, metadata management, and Master Data Management (MDM) services with the Salesforce platform will establish a unified architecture for agentic AI — enabling AI agents to operate safely, responsibly, and at scale across the modern enterprise,” the company said in a statement announcing the acquisition.

By integrating Informatica’s solutions, Salesforce aims to bolster data transparency and governance capabilities, as well as provide a broader pool of metadata used to train and inform AI agents.

Salesforce eyes unified agentic AI gains

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has been highly vocal on the potential of the firm’s Agentforce service over the last eight months, said the deal will create the “most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry”.

He added: “By uniting the power of Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Tableau with Informatica’s industry-leading, advanced data management capabilities, we will enable autonomous agents to deliver smarter, safer, and more scalable outcomes for every company, and significantly strengthen our position in the $150 billion-plus enterprise data market.”

The acquisition is expected to close early in the next fiscal year, according to Salesforce, and the company expects the deal to boost operating margins from the second year.

Informatica is Salesforce’s largest acquisition since it purchased Slack in 2021 as part of a $28 billion deal. The company acquired Tableau Software two years prior in a deal valued at $15.3 billion.

Salesforce shelved talks with the company last year after negotiations over an acquisition fell through.

“Joining forces with Salesforce represents a significant leap forward in our journey to bring data and AI to life by empowering businesses with the transformative power of their most critical asset — their data,” said Amit Walia, CEO of Informatica.

“We have a shared vision for how we can help organizations harness the full value of their data in the AI era.”

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Ross Kelly is ITPro's News & Analysis Editor, responsible for leading the brand's news output and in-depth reporting on the latest stories from across the business technology landscape. Ross was previously a Staff Writer, during which time he developed a keen interest in cyber security, business leadership, and emerging technologies.

He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University in 2016 with a BA (Hons) in Journalism, and joined ITPro in 2022 after four years working in technology conference research.

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