Salesforce acquires Braze to accelerate its AI marketing ambitions

Salesforce is making another major play for the future of AI-powered marketing, acquiring customer engagement platform Braze for US$5.6 billion as it builds out its capabilities in real-time personalisation and autonomous customer interactions.

The all-cash deal will see Braze shareholders receive US$47.50 per share, a 58% premium to the company's previous closing price, as Salesforce looks to strengthen its marketing cloud offering and accelerate its push into agentic AI.

Braze specialises in helping brands respond to customer behaviour in real time, coordinating personalised experiences across mobile apps, websites, email, SMS and WhatsApp.

Its AI capabilities allow marketers to optimise content, offers, channels and timing based on live customer signals, rather than relying solely on predetermined campaign journeys.

For Salesforce, the acquisition would bring those capabilities into an increasingly expansive technology portfolio spanning customer relationship management, data infrastructure, marketing automation and AI agents.

The company plans to combine Braze's real-time engagement technology with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Data 360 and Agentforce, giving businesses the ability to identify customer needs, determine the next action and deliver personalised communications across channels.

"Every interaction is an opportunity to wow your customers," Patrick Stokes, president, applications and marketing at Salesforce, said.

"Most of that wow comes from knowing your customer, and responding at just the right moment. Braze was built to turn live customer behavior into personalized engagement at scale. Bringing that capability together with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, CRM, and Data 360 will deliver that wow moment in every customer interaction."

The acquisition adds another substantial piece to Salesforce's expanding AI portfolio.

In November 2025, the company completed its approximately US$8 billion acquisition of Informatica, strengthening its data integration, governance and management capabilities.

Salesforce has also been building out its AI agent capabilities through Agentforce and a string of acquisitions, while its earlier US$27.7 billion purchase of Slack brought workplace collaboration and enterprise workflows into the business.

The Braze deal extends that strategy further into consumer-facing marketing, where brands are increasingly looking to automate decisions and customer interactions across multiple channels.

Braze said its customer base includes some 2,770 customers worldwide, including Australian technology company Canva, alongside Instacart, Dairy Queen, Equinox, Urban Outfitters and Venmo.

The company's cloud-native technology is designed to process high volumes of customer activity and adjust marketing journeys as consumers browse, purchase and interact with brands.

Braze CEO and co-founder Bill Magnuson (pictured) said the agreement would give the company greater resources to develop its technology while maintaining its focus on marketers.

"Braze was built on the conviction that marketers and their creativity are a brand's ultimate competitive advantage," Magnuson said.

"This past year we shipped at the fastest pace in our history, and BrazeAI is helping marketers get their best ideas live faster. Salesforce shares our commitment to marketers, and we'll continue building as Braze and investing in the Braze community of customers and partners who built this company with us."

Salesforce indicated Braze will continue operating under its existing brand following the acquisition, with the companies emphasising an open approach that allows customers to work across different data platforms and technology partners.

Salesforce expects the transaction to close during its fiscal year 2028, subject to Braze shareholder approval and regulatory clearance.

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