Key Points
- To enhance its AI-driven solutions, Salesforce is acquiring Tenyx, an AI-powered voice agent startup. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2024.
- Founded in 2022, Tenyx provides AI solutions to industries like e-commerce, healthcare, hospitality, and travel.
- Salesforce is resuming acquisitions to boost revenue growth, reversing a prior decision to limit acquisitions under investor pressure.
- The move aligns with similar acquisitions by Microsoft and Amazon, highlighting competition for AI tools and talent.
On Tuesday, Salesforce (CRM.N) announced that it has agreed to acquire Tenyx, a startup specializing in artificial intelligence-powered voice agents, to enhance its AI-driven product offerings. While the financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Tenyx’s co-founders, CEO Itamar Arel and CTO Adam Earle, along with their team, will join Salesforce as part of the acquisition.
Founded in 2022 and based in California, Tenyx provides AI solutions across various industries, including e-commerce, healthcare, hospitality, and travel. The acquisition marks a strategic shift for Salesforce, which had previously decided to step back from acquiring more companies after disbanding its mergers and acquisitions committee in response to pressure from activist investors. Instead, the company had announced plans to double its share buybacks as part of a broader strategy to drive shareholder value.
However, Salesforce is now pivoting back to acquisitions to re-accelerate its revenue growth, mirroring moves by other tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, competing aggressively for AI tools and talent. Microsoft spent $650 million in March to acquire talent from AI startup Inflection. Amazon followed suit in June by hiring several co-founders and employees from Adept, another AI-focused company.
Salesforce’s renewed interest in acquisitions follows a strong financial performance. The company recently surpassed Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and profit expectations, driven by increased spending on its enterprise cloud products. By integrating Tenyx’s AI-powered voice agent technology, Salesforce aims to enhance its service offerings further and maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving enterprise AI landscape.
The acquisition aligns with Salesforce’s broader strategy to incorporate more AI-driven capabilities into its suite of cloud solutions, reflecting a growing industry trend toward integrating advanced AI technologies to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
