Salesforce Announces $8 Billion Acquisition of Informatica to Strengthen AI and Data Capabilities

Salesforce has confirmed plans to acquire cloud data management company Informatica in a deal valued at approximately $8 billion.

The acquisition marks the enterprise software giant’s largest move since its 2021 purchase of Slack and reflects its renewed focus on artificial intelligence and data integration.

Announced Tuesday, the transaction will see Salesforce pay $25 in cash per share for Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stock. The deal is expected to close early in Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027 and will be financed through a mix of existing cash and newly issued debt.

This acquisition comes at a time when data infrastructure has become increasingly central to deploying effective and scalable AI solutions. Salesforce, known for its customer relationship management (CRM) platform, intends to integrate Informatica’s capabilities—including data integration, metadata management, governance, privacy, and master data management—into its AI-powered ecosystem.

“Informatica’s robust data management tools will significantly enhance Salesforce’s ability to deliver agentic AI through our Agentforce platform,” said Steve Fisher, Salesforce president and chief technology officer. “A trustworthy AI system requires deep data understanding, and this combination provides exactly that.”

Informatica, which helps enterprises manage and unify data across cloud and on-premise environments, serves a broad range of clients including Unilever and Toyota. Its cloud-native Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) platform will now become part of Salesforce’s broader strategy to embed generative AI more deeply across its products.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff stated that the integration of Informatica with existing Salesforce tools—such as Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Tableau—will create a unified data foundation to power smarter and more secure AI agents.

“This move strengthens our position in the $150 billion-plus enterprise data market,” Benioff noted.

The acquisition follows Salesforce’s previous high-profile deals, including its $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack in 2021, $15.7 billion purchase of Tableau in 2019, and $6.5 billion deal for MuleSoft in 2018. However, dealmaking had slowed in recent years as Salesforce faced pressure from activist investors to improve profitability.

Shares of Informatica rose nearly 6% in premarket trading following the announcement, while Salesforce shares saw a modest uptick of about 1%.

Salesforce expects the transaction to enhance its non-GAAP operating margin, earnings per share, and free cash flow starting in the second year post-closing. The company also emphasized that the deal aligns with its disciplined M&A strategy and long-term goal of enabling autonomous AI agents that can operate reliably across the enterprise.

CNBC, Reports, the Wall Street Journal, and Business Wire contributed to this report.