Salesforce acquires Braze for $5.66B in AI marketing push
Salesforce is paying $5.66 billion to acquire Braze, an AI-powered customer engagement platform. The deal represents a 58% premium over Braze’s closing price of $30.04 per share. Braze shareholders will receive $47.50 in cash per share.
Braze shares jumped more than 50% on the announcement. Salesforce shares slipped about 1% in early trading.
The acquisition is expected to close during Salesforce’s fiscal 2028, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. Salesforce stated the transaction will not affect its fiscal 2027 financial outlook.
What Braze Brings
Braze, founded in 2011 as Appboy, helps companies communicate with customers across mobile apps, email, websites, and SMS. Its platform processes customer activity in real time, letting marketers adjust campaigns based on user behavior.
The New York-based company went public on Nasdaq in 2021. Its customers include Canva, Venmo, and Urban Outfitters. Braze’s AI tools personalize marketing content, select communication channels, and time message delivery.
Salesforce’s AI Acquisition Spree
The Braze deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions aimed at strengthening Salesforce’s position in enterprise AI:
- Informatica: Approximately $8 billion deal for data management
- Fin: $3.6 billion acquisition of an AI customer service platform
- Anthropic partnership: Claudeforce plugin for sales team automation
Salesforce is racing to connect its customer databases with AI systems that can interpret behavior and deliver personalized interactions across digital channels. Braze adds real-time consumer engagement capabilities that complement Salesforce’s existing CRM infrastructure.
The Integration Challenge
Salesforce has faced questions before about integrating major acquisitions like Slack and Tableau. The Braze purchase comes at a substantial premium, and the company faces pressure to turn aggressive AI spending into sustainable growth.
For Braze, the deal marks a major exit for a venture-backed company that grew into a publicly traded business. For Salesforce, it’s another expensive wager that AI will reshape how businesses attract, serve, and retain customers.
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