What started as a closed door at OpenAI may have turned into one of the most lucrative pivots in Salesforce history. In a recent appearance on the Sources Podcast, CEO Marc Benioff revealed that his original intention was to secure an investment in Sam Altman’s AI powerhouse. However, those plans were thwarted by the tight bond between OpenAI and Microsoft, which effectively blocked Salesforce from getting a piece of the action due to competitive conflicts.
Rather than seeing this as a loss, Benioff describes the move toward Anthropic as a necessary shift in strategy. He admitted that the decision wasn’t necessarily born from some prophetic insight into which AI firm would win, but rather from a simple realization that they had to look elsewhere since their first choice was unavailable. This forced proximity led Salesforce to form a deep strategic alliance with Anthropic, integrating its Claude models directly into tools like Slackbot.
The gamble appears to be paying off both technologically and financially. Benioff suggested during the interview that the investment could eventually yield returns in the tens of billions of dollars. While Salesforce has kept the exact size of its stake under wraps, any future initial public offering from Anthropic would likely provide a clear valuation for their holdings and a path toward massive gains.
As both Anthropic and OpenAI weigh their options regarding public markets, Salesforce finds itself in a strong position having diversified its bets. While Altman has indicated that an OpenAI IPO isn’t on the immediate horizon for 2026, Benioff seems confident that being pushed away from the industry leader actually paved the way for a far more symbiotic and profitable partnership.