Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of global enterprise software giant Salesforce, has announced the launch of a $500 million Generative AI fund aimed at supporting the start-up ecosystem and fostering the responsible development of Generative artificial intelligence (AI). The fund has already made initial investments in six leading companies in the field, including Anthropic, Cohere, Hearth.AI, You.com, Humane, and Tribble. In addition, Salesforce Ventures is actively seeking out additional start-ups for investment, with a particular interest in the Israeli market.
According to Paul Drews, Managing Partner at Salesforce Ventures, the impact of AI on the world is already evident, and expanding the Generative AI Fund “enables [Salesforce] to work with even more entrepreneurs who are accelerating the development of transformative AI solutions for the enterprise, and we are excited to support the next generation of innovative founders.”
John Somorjai, EVP Corporate Development and Salesforce Ventures at Salesforce highlighted that the initial investments from the fund align with the company's wider investment strategy. “Salesforce Ventures has been investing in high-potential enterprise technology businesses for more than a decade, and these initial investments from the fund in Generative AI companies fit squarely into that strategy.”
Salesforce, founded in 1999, is a global leader in enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. The company enables businesses of all sizes and industries to leverage cloud, mobile, social, artificial intelligence, voice, and blockchain technologies to connect with their customers in novel ways.
Salesforce's presence in Israel
Salesforce's presence in Israel dates back to 2011 when it acquired the Israeli start-up Navajo Systems. Since then, Salesforce Israel has evolved into an essential research and development (R&D) hub, focusing on AI-powered big-data marketing intelligence, AI analytics, voice technology, security, and field service solutions. The company has made strategic acquisitions in the Israeli market, including Blue Tail (2012), Kransen (2015), Implicit (2016), Datorama (2018), Bonobo, and Clicksoftware (2019).
The launch of Salesforce Ventures' Generative AI fund reflects the growing importance and interest in the field of Generative artificial intelligence. The advancements in Generative AI research have been remarkable in recent years, with breakthroughs in areas such as image synthesis, natural language processing, and audio generation. These developments have opened up new possibilities for industries ranging from entertainment and marketing to healthcare and finance.
One of the key drivers behind the surge in Generative AI research is the availability of large-scale datasets and significant computational resources. The availability of vast amounts of data allows AI models to learn and generate increasingly realistic and high-quality outputs. Furthermore, the development of powerful hardware, such as graphics processing units and tensor processing units, has accelerated the training and inference capabilities of Generative AI models.
The inclusion of Israeli start-ups in the fund's portfolio also highlights the country's growing prominence in the field of AI research and innovation. Israel has emerged as a hotbed for AI start-ups, thanks to its strong technological ecosystem, academic institutions, and government support for research and development. By seeking investment opportunities in Israel, Salesforce Ventures recognizes the country's potential to contribute to the advancement of Generative AI technology. With continued research and investment, Generative AI holds the promise of revolutionizing various sectors and shaping the future of human-machine interactions.