Salesforce buys data firm Informatica in $8 billion deal
In a move that signals its intensifying focus on AI and data dominance, Salesforce has officially acquired cloud data management firm Informatica for $8 billion. The all-equity transaction marks one of Salesforce’s most significant acquisitions to date, aimed at strengthening its foundational data infrastructure to support AI at enterprise scale.
Announced Tuesday, the deal will see Salesforce pay $25 in cash per share for Informatica’s Class A and B-1 common stock. The acquisition follows months of speculation, with initial rumors emerging in April 2024. Although Informatica denied any intent to sell at the time, Salesforce’s ambitions have now crystallized in this transformative agreement.
Founded in 1993, Informatica has become a cornerstone in cloud-native data management, serving over 5,000 customers across 100 countries. At the time of the deal, the company had a market capitalization of $7.1 billion, making the $8 billion offer a premium purchase price.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff framed the acquisition as a strategic leap forward in the company’s pursuit of enterprise AI leadership. “Together, we’ll supercharge Agentforce, Data Cloud, Tableau, MuleSoft, and Customer 360,” Benioff stated. “This is a transformational step in delivering enterprise-grade AI that is safe, responsible, and deeply integrated with the world’s data.”
A Strategic Fit for Agentic AI
The acquisition of Informatica is set to accelerate Salesforce’s agentic AI strategy, which focuses on deploying autonomous software agents capable of operating with context and intelligence across complex enterprise environments. Informatica’s deep data integration, governance, and quality capabilities are seen as essential to building responsible, scalable AI systems that can function reliably across vast, interconnected data ecosystems.
According to Salesforce, this acquisition enhances the capabilities of its core AI products, including the Agentforce platform—a hub for deploying intelligent autonomous agents—and the broader Customer 360 suite, which unifies customer data from across various business functions.
From Rumor to Reality
The road to acquisition has been marked by uncertainty. When early reports of the deal surfaced in April 2024, both Salesforce and Informatica faced market skepticism. Investors raised concerns about potential integration challenges and strategic mismatches, causing stock prices to dip. Informatica, at the time, publicly dismissed the idea of a sale.
However, Salesforce’s pursuit appears to have persisted behind closed doors, culminating in a deal that positions the company more competitively in the AI infrastructure race.
Not the First Data-Focused Bet
Salesforce’s acquisition of Informatica follows its $1.9 billion purchase of Own Company in September 2024, a firm specializing in data backup and security for Salesforce ecosystems. That move signaled the company’s prioritization of data integrity and protection—key elements for any enterprise deploying AI at scale.
“Data security has never been more critical,” said Steve Fisher, Salesforce’s general manager, in a statement following the Own acquisition. “Own’s proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers.”
What’s Next?
With Informatica now under its wing, Salesforce appears poised to become not just a CRM and SaaS leader, but a central player in the evolving enterprise AI ecosystem. The integration of Informatica’s technology stack could serve as a backbone for safer and more capable AI deployments across industries, enabling enterprises to trust, scale, and innovate faster with their data.
As the AI arms race intensifies, this acquisition may mark a turning point—not just for Salesforce, but for the broader enterprise software landscape.
