Salesforce Further Strengthens Analytics Offerings With $700M Krux Acquisition

Published: October 4, 2016

Salesforce has agreed to acquire Krux, a San Francisco-based data management platform. A regulatory filing from Salesforce shows that the deal is valued at approximately $700 million, which the company plans to pay in cash and stock.

Unveiled prior to the company’s annual Dreamforce conference, the regulatory filing shows that the acquisition has been in the works since October 2016. Salesforce intends to pay almost half ($340 million) in cash, according to the filing. The acquisition is anticipated to close in Salesforce’s fourth fiscal quarter ending January 31, 2017.

Get the latest B2B Marketing News & Trends delivered directly to your inbox!

In a blog post detailing the announcement, Krux stated that the acquisition will extend the audience segmentation and targeting capabilities within Salesforce Marketing Cloud, enabling users to deliver more relevant and contextual customer experiences. The company added that it expects to continue supporting its partner ecosystem, but it was not clear whether Krux will fold into Salesforce’s offerings or continue to be a standalone offering.

The acquisition will also enhance Salesforce’s new Einstein offering, which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) into the company’s cloud offerings — including its Marketing, Sales And Service clouds. The future role of AI has become a major topic of discussion within the B2B community, and companies such as Salesforce and Oracle are positioning to meet buyers’ needs.

 “Krux will feed Salesforce Einstein with billions of new signals, enabling companies to be even smarter about their customers,” said Tom Chavez, Co-Founder and CEO of Krux, in the blog post. “Krux and Salesforce together will empower every company to deliver more relevant and valuable consumer experiences across every touchpoint.”

This move is one of multiple acquisitions that Salesforce has made since the start of the year — a majority of which were made to fuel the company’s AI initiatives. Other notable acquisitions include PredictionIO, Quip, MetaMind, Demandware and Implisit.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
B2B Marketing Exchange
B2B Marketing Exchange East
Campaign Optimization Series
Buyer Insights & Intelligence Series
Strategy & Planning Series