Salesforce explores $2 billion acquisition of AI research firm listen labs

Salesforce is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Listen Labs, an AI-driven customer research platform, for approximately $2 billion. The deal, which has not yet been finalized, could enhance Salesforce's efforts to expand its agentic AI platform, Agentforce, beyond automation. Listen Labs, founded in 2023 by Alfred Wahlforss and Florian Juengermann, has attracted major clients including Microsoft, Google, and Nestle. The company’s AI tools automate qualitative research, offering significant value to enterprises. Juengermann, a former German national programming champion, co-founded the firm after developing an AI avatar app that gained 20,000 users in its first day. If completed, the acquisition would join a trend of recent AI deals, including Nvidia’s $12.9 billion purchase of HuggingFace and Stripe’s $8 billion acquisition of OpenRouter. Listen Labs was last valued at $500 million in a funding round earlier this year, backed by Sequoia Capital and other investors. Salesforce’s interest in Listen Labs aligns with its push to improve enterprise AI capabilities, following its consideration of acquiring HuggingFace before its sale to Nvidia.