TLDR:
– Salesforce Ventures has doubled its AI commitments to $1 billion, with a new $500 million AI fund announced.
– The investment arm of Salesforce is focusing on promising generative AI startups.
Salesforce Ventures, the venture arm of tech giant Salesforce, has announced a new $500 million AI fund, doubling its AI commitments to $1 billion. This fund is in addition to the $250 million generative AI fund launched in March 2023. The firm revealed at its TrailblazerDX event that it would initially invest in four AI companies – Anthropic, Cohere, Hearth.AI, and you.com. The insatiable appetite for AI investments is evident as venture funding in August saw AI leading all sectors in capital raised, with startups raising $4.3 billion, according to Crunchbase data. Salesforce Ventures has participated in 10 deals involving AI-related companies. Recently, the investment arm invested in Ensemble AI and Protect AI. Alongside Salesforce Ventures, private equity firm Insight Partners is on the verge of closing a new $10 billion-plus fund, which may ultimately reach $12 billion. Insight Partners had recent exits, including the sale of threat intelligence company Recorded Future to Mastercard for $2.65 billion and Own to Salesforce for $1.9 billion. The trend of increasing investments in AI and the strong performance of firms like Salesforce Ventures and Insight Partners highlight the growing importance of AI in the tech and investment landscape.
