Salesforce introduces AI Cloud, announces $500Mn generative AI startup fund
At a time when industry giants like Google and Microsoft are doubling down on AI investments, cloud software major Salesforce, has announced what could be a significant leap forward in the realm of artificial intelligence with the launch of AI Cloud. This new enterprise AI solution aims to revolutionize productivity across Salesforce applications by seamlessly integrating various Salesforce technologies such as Einstein, Data Cloud, Tableau, Flow, and MuleSoft. This integration is likely to empower businesses to leverage the full spectrum of Salesforce technologies, and go on to create a unified AI-driven ecosystem.
Apart from the reveal of the AI cloud service, Salesforce also doubled its venture capital fund for generative AI startups to $500 million.
The enterprise AI solution is aimed to boost productivity across all of Salesforce applications, as well as offer real-time generative AI capabilities to be incorporated seamlessly into business operations. Generative AI has been the keyword in the tech space in recent months, and AI Cloud is Salesforce’s offering in the rapidly-growing sector. By providing businesses of all sizes with a comprehensive and integrated AI solution, Salesforce enables them to harness the power of AI-driven insights, automation, and intelligence, thus empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions, enhance customer experiences, drive operational efficiency, and identify new growth opportunities. The starter pack of AI Cloud will be available for $360,000 annually.
“AI is reshaping our world and transforming business in ways we never imagined, and every company needs to become AI-first,” said Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.
Salesforce describes AI Cloud as a “suite of capabilities optimized for delivering trusted, open, and real-time generative experiences across all applications and workflows,” and one that can “supercharge” customer experiences and company productivity by combining AI, data, analytics, and automation to provide generative AI services for enterprises. By harnessing advanced AI capabilities, organizations can leverage AI-driven insights, automate repetitive tasks, streamline processes, and enhance decision-making. AI Cloud offers a comprehensive range of solutions that optimize various aspects of business operations, ultimately driving efficiency and productivity across teams and departments in enterprises.
“AI is reshaping our world and transforming business in ways we never imagined, and every company needs to become AI-first,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “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.”
The Salesforce-built models in AI Cloud power new capabilities in Salesforce’s flagship products, including Data Cloud’s robust data analytics, Tableau’s data visualization expertise, Flow’s workflow automation, and MuleSoft’s data integration capabilities. There are a total of nine models in AI Cloud, all powering new capabilities in Salesforce’s products. The models are Sales GPT (will be generally available in July 2023), Service GPT (will be generally available in June 2023), Marketing GPT (will be generally available in February 2024), Commerce GPT (will be generally available in July 2023), Slack GPT (will be generally available later this year), Tableau GPT (will be in pilot in November 2023), Flow GPT (will be in pilot in October 2023), and Apex GPT (will be in pilot in June 2023).
Furthermore, AI Cloud comes with the new Einstein GPT Trust Layer to tackle and resolve risks associated with the adoption of generative AI. The AI moderation and redaction service is said to work towards preventing text-generating models from retaining sensitive data, such as customer purchase orders and phone numbers, thus ensuring that companies are in strict compliance and governance requirements. At a time when privacy concerns are at a high and the cons of generative AI have opened an all-new can of worms, the new Einstein Trust Layer seems to be a handy solution.
