Salesforce expands investment in AI

Salesforce doubles down on AI (Source – Shutterstock)

Salesforce doubles down on AI and unleashes the power of generative AI

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  • Salesforce doubles Generative AI Fund to US$500M for responsible AI development.
  • AI Cloud: Supercharge CRM with real-time generative AI.

Earlier this year, Salesforce unveiled Einstein GPT, integrating ChatGPT into Dynamics 365 to empower sales, service, and marketing professionals. Now, Salesforce is doubling its Generative AI Fund from US$250 million to US$500 million, demonstrating its continued commitment to fostering the AI startup ecosystem and driving responsible development in generative AI.

Salesforce has welcomed two new AI startups, Humane (building the first AI hardware and software platform) and Tribble (offers an autonomous go-to-market platform), to its AI ecosystem, thereby expanding the number of visionary companies in its fund. Paul Drews, the Managing Partner of Salesforce, conveyed his excitement about the transformative potential of AI and the chance to capitalize on the momentum generated by the Generative AI Fund.

With this expansion, Salesforce aims to collaborate with more entrepreneurs driving the development of groundbreaking AI solutions for enterprises. Drews emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting the next generation of innovative founders.

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The Generative AI Fund has already invested in notable AI firms like Hearth, a next-gen relationship management provider and search engine You.com. Recently, Salesforce announced additional investments in Anthropic (AI safety and research company) and Cohere (specializes in natural language processing (NLP) models to enhance human-machine interactions), further strengthening its portfolio of cutting-edge AI companies.

Salesforce isn’t the only one investing in generative AI

Salesforce’s investment in generative AI aligns with the trend seen among major technology companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta Platforms, which have made significant commitments to this cutting-edge technology. Examples include Microsoft’s US$10 billion investment in OpenAI and the integration of its technology into Microsoft products, as well as Google’s US$300 million investment in Anthropic and its intensified internal development of generative AI.

Tech giants invest on generative AI

Google, Microsoft, and Meta invest big on generative AI.

Even Meta has shifted its focus from metaverse development to generative AI, unveiling its tool called LLaMA. This shift has caught the attention of venture capital and private equity investors, who now recognize the commercial potential of generative AI and have started investing in the sector.

In 2022, an astounding 3,198 AI startups secured US$52.1 billion in funding through 3,396 separate deals, according to the GlobalData Financial Deals Database. Specifically, 110 of these deals centered around generative AI applications, raising US$2.6 billion. This growth underscores the rising interest and investment in generative AI as a transformative technology.

Empowering enterprises with trusted and open generative AI solutions

Salesforce has introduced AI Cloud, a solution aimed at enhancing customer experiences and boosting productivity through generative AI for enterprises, marking its first step in supporting the AI investment. This comprehensive suite of capabilities is designed to deliver real-time, trusted, and open generative experiences across all applications and workflows.

The centerpiece of AI Cloud is Einstein, the world’s first AI for CRM, which already powers over 1 trillion predictions per week across Salesforce’s applications. By incorporating generative AI, Einstein empowers companies and employees to achieve higher productivity and efficiency in sales, service, marketing, and commerce.

Salesforce AI Cloud Einstein GPT

Salesforce AI Cloud is Einstein (Source – Shutterstock)

At the core of AI Cloud lies the Einstein GPT Trust Layer, a development addressing concerns about the risks associated with adopting generative AI. This trust layer enables customers to fulfill their enterprise data security and compliance requirements while reaping the benefits of generative AI.

AI Cloud empowers sales representatives to effortlessly generate personalized emails customized to their customers’ needs. It enables service teams to automate personalized chat responses and case summaries, while marketers leverage AI to create personalized content across multiple channels. Commerce teams gain access to automated insights and recommendations for delivering tailored commerce experiences throughout the buyer’s journey. Furthermore, developers benefit from AI-generated code, predictions for bugs, and suggested fixes.

Marc Benioff, the Chair, and CEO of Salesforce, emphasized the transformative power of AI, highlighting its ability to reshape the world and revolutionize businesses in previously unimaginable ways. He stressed the importance for every company to embrace an AI-first approach.

“AI Cloud, built on the #1 CRM, is the fastest and easiest way for our customers to unleash the incredible power of AI, with trust at the center driven by our new Einstein GPT Trust Layer. AI Cloud will unlock incredible innovation, productivity, and efficiency for every company,” said Benioff.

Unleashing productivity and efficiency with AI Cloud

Going deeper, AI Cloud integrates Einstein, Data Cloud, Tableau, Flow, and MuleSoft to deliver trusted and open generative AI solutions for enterprises. The Einstein GPT Trust Layer allows companies to adopt trusted generative AI quickly, optimizing model selection and ensuring data privacy, security, and compliance. This addresses concerns related to the risks associated with adopting generative AI. Features of Einstein GPT Trust Layer include:

  • Third-Party LLMs: AI Cloud hosts Language Model Licenses (LLMs) from providers like AWS, Anthropic, and Cohere within Salesforce’s infrastructure. This approach maintains data security and leverages OpenAI’s safety tools, providing a robust and secure environment for generative AI.
  • Salesforce LLMs: AI Cloud utilizes Salesforce’s own LLMs, including CodeGen, CodeT5+, and CodeTF. These LLMs empower businesses with advanced capabilities like code generation and process automation, offering a comprehensive suite of generative AI solutions.
  • Bring Your Own Model (BYOM): Customers with their own models can integrate them with AI Cloud, storing data on their infrastructure while benefiting from the Einstein GPT Trust Layer. This flexibility allows organizations to leverage their existing models and infrastructure while enjoying the benefits of Salesforce’s AI capabilities.

Moreover, AI Cloud is business-ready, leveraging Salesforce’s power to boost productivity and efficiency across various applications. This incudes:

  • Generative AI across Salesforce applications: Sales GPT, Service GPT, Marketing GPT, and more incorporate trusted generative AI. This integration enables sales teams to generate personalized emails, service teams to automate chat responses, and marketers to create personalized content across multiple channels.
  • Prompt template and builders: Salesforce develops context-rich prompts that provide instant value from trusted generative AI. These prompts reduce time and cost by offering pre-designed templates and builders, streamlining the process of generating AI-driven content.

By integrating technologies such as Einstein, Data Cloud, Tableau, Flow, and MuleSoft, Salesforce will be able to provide enterprises an integration that enhances productivity and contributes to improved customer experiences.



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