Microsoft Blocks Salesforce From Investing in OpenAI, But Anthropic Pays Off Big
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed on Alex Heath's Sources podcast that his company was blocked from investing in OpenAI due to Microsoft's 27% stake. The block was because of Microsoft's direct rivalry with Salesforce in enterprise software and its use of OpenAI models in competing products.
Benioff said he had asked Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, for a stake but was turned down, citing the Microsoft relationship as the reason. Instead, Salesforce invested in Anthropic, which is now valued at $965 billion and preparing for a public listing.
The investment has paid off, with Salesforce's stake reportedly worth around $5 billion after Anthropic's recent $65 billion raise. Benioff believes this could earn Salesforce 'not just billions but maybe tens of billions of dollars.'