Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says Microsoft shut him out of OpenAI, bet on Anthropic
Marc Benioff told Alex Heath on the Sources podcast that Microsoft’s close ties with OpenAI prevented Salesforce from investing in the ChatGPT maker, prompting the cloud‑software firm to back Anthropic instead. Salesforce’s first check was $50 million in 2023 at a reported $4.1 billion pre‑money valuation, and the company says it has now put more than $300 million into the startup across several…
Key points
- Benioff says Microsoft blocked Salesforce from investing in OpenAI, leading to a $50 million Anthropic investment in 2023.
- Salesforce has invested over $300 million in Anthropic and expects “tens of billions” from its IPO.
- Q2 revenue hit $11.3 billion, Agentforce run‑rate topped $1.5 billion, and Slack acquisition $27.7 billion supports AI‑agent strategy.
The partnership has moved beyond capital. Under an expanded Claudeforce deal, Anthropic’s Claude model is the default in Slack, powering Slackbot and allowing Salesforce data to be accessed directly through Claude. Benioff also defended Salesforce’s $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack, saying the platform validates his view that AI agents will become the primary business interface. Salesforce reported record Q2 revenue of $11.3 billion, up 11%, with its Agentforce run‑rate exceeding $1.5 billion, a rise of more than 240%, and raised full‑year guidance to $46.1 billion‑$46.4 billion.
The story so far
10 episodes →- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says Microsoft shut him out of OpenAI, bet on Anthropicthis story
Marc Benioff Says Microsoft Shut Salesforce Out Of OpenAI — So He Bet On Anthropic Instead, And It Could Pay 'Tens Of Billions'
finance.yahoo.com · 22 September 2026
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