Salesforce UK Business Gets $4 Billion Over 5 Years

Salesforce will invest $4 billion in its Salesforce UK operations in the next five years. The company is experiencing rapid growth in the UK as companies invest in their digital transformations and leverage the innovation cycle around artificial intelligence. This recent investment builds on a previous five-year investment of $2.5 billion announced in 2018. This continued backing in the UK will drive innovation and support its growing customer base, Salesforce officials said.

Salesforce’s Marc Benioff

Marc Benioff, chair and CEO at Salesforce, said this investment builds on the company’s longstanding commitment to the UK.

“The UK is home to some of the world’s most incredible, innovative companies,” Benioff said. “We’re thrilled to work together with them to drive the next wave of digital transformation in this new AI era.”

Safe and Responsible AI

Salesforce Ventures, which supports startups, also continues to fuel innovation within the UK startup community through its Generative AI Fund, part of its commitment to bolster the AI startup ecosystem and spark the development of responsible generative AI. Other investments in the UK include Genesis Global, Onfido, Sequence and Sylvera.

Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO at Salesforce UK & Ireland, said the UK has a gold opportunity to unlock long-lasting value for the economy and grow its status a technology leader.

Salesforce’s Zahra Bahrololoum

“A clear pro-innovation regulatory framework that compels safe and responsible use of AI is vital,” she said. “Salesforce is fully focused on bringing secure, trusted, enterprise ready generative AI to UK businesses.”

Salesforce says as generative AI transforms everyday work, the company is at the forefront of helping customers harness the technology safely and responsibly. Earlier this year, Salesforce launched Einstein GPT, the world’s first generative AI for CRM. This month, Salesforce announced AI Cloud, which brings together AI, data, analytics and automation to provide trusted, open, real-time generative AI that is enterprise ready.

It also launched Salesforce Accelerator – AI for Impact, a philanthropic initiative to help purpose-driven organizations gain equitable access to trusted generative AI technologies.

Salesforce UK Ecosystem Propels Growth

Salesforce and its ecosystem of customers and partners in the UK expect to create 271,700 new jobs and £52 billion (US $66 billion) in new business revenue by 2026, according to research by IDC. However, the emergence of generative AI serves as a powerful reminder of the digital skills crisis facing UK businesses.

Last year, Salesforce announced a grant of more than £1.1 million to support education programs in the UK, and is urging business and government to work together to establish a national online digital skills platform to show people where to access the training they need.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said Salesforce’s investment in its UK business is a ringing endorsement of the country’s economy.

“It will strengthen the company’s UK presence, increasing capacity, as well as creating vital jobs, reinforcing our position as one of their largest markets outside of the U.S.,” Sunak said. “This investment sits alongside my key priority to grow the economy and pledge to make the UK the best place in the world to start, grow and invest in tech businesses.”