M&A DealsDeals & Investments
Salesforce Agrees to Acquire Braze for $5.66 Billion to Strengthen AI-Powered Marketing
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Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Braze (NASDAQ: BRZE) for approximately $5.66 billion in enterprise value, in a deal aimed at strengthening its AI-powered marketing and customer engagement capabilities.
Announced on 20 October 2026, the proposed acquisition would bring Braze's real-time customer engagement platform into Salesforce's broader ecosystem, combining customer data and relationship management with personalised communications across digital channels.
Under the terms of the agreement, Braze Class A shareholders will receive $47.50 in cash per share. The transaction is expected to close in Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearances.
Strengthening Salesforce's Marketing Capabilities
Braze provides technology that enables brands to respond to customer behaviour in real time and coordinate personalised experiences across mobile applications, websites, email, SMS and WhatsApp.
Its platform uses an event-streaming architecture to update customer profiles and adapt customer journeys as new interactions occur. BrazeAI adds AI-powered optimisation across content, offers, channels and timing.
For Salesforce, the acquisition would add specialised real-time engagement capabilities to its existing customer relationship management, data and marketing products. The company expects Braze to strengthen Marketing Cloud's ability to deliver personalised experiences at scale, including campaigns reaching hundreds of millions of people.
The deal reflects a broader shift in enterprise marketing, where brands increasingly seek to connect customer insights with timely, relevant interactions across multiple touchpoints.
Bringing Customer Data and Real-Time Engagement Together
Salesforce's strategy centres on connecting customer information and business workflows across its platform. Braze would add capabilities for responding to live customer behaviour and adapting communications as interactions take place.
The proposed combination is expected to complement Salesforce's Data 360, Customer 360 and Agentforce offerings, alongside its wider platform architecture.
Patrick Stokes, President of Applications and Marketing at Salesforce, said the combination would bring Braze's real-time personalisation capabilities together with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, CRM and Data 360.
The companies expect this integration to help businesses use a deeper understanding of customers to create more relevant experiences across marketing, commerce, sales and service.
AI Moves Further Into Customer Engagement
The acquisition comes as AI reshapes how marketing teams develop content, determine customer offers and manage interactions across channels.
BrazeAI is designed to help marketers optimise the content, timing and channel of customer communications. Combined with Salesforce's customer data and AI capabilities, the technology could help businesses move towards more responsive engagement models.
Salesforce has also identified agentic AI as an important part of the next phase of customer relationship management. Its strategy is to enable AI systems to understand customer context, make decisions and take action in real time.
Bringing Braze into this environment would expand the tools available to marketers seeking to connect customer data with automated, personalised engagement.
Braze's Customer Base and Leadership
Braze serves approximately 2,770 customers, including Canva, Dairy Queen, Equinox, Instacart, Urban Outfitters and Venmo. Its platform is built for high-volume business-to-consumer engagement, where brands need to coordinate communications across channels and react quickly to customer activity.
Braze was co-founded by Bill Magnuson and Jon Hyman. Magnuson, its CEO and co-founder, said the company would continue building its platform and investing in its customer and partner community. He also highlighted the potential to innovate faster with Salesforce's broader platform.
Braze's expertise in mobile experiences, data engineering and customer engagement would become part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud if the transaction closes.
Transaction Timeline and Next Steps
The acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from Braze shareholders and required regulatory approvals. Salesforce expects the transaction to close in fiscal year 2028.
The company said the deal is not expected to change its fiscal 2027 guidance. It has not provided fiscal 2028 guidance or updated its long-term targets in connection with the announcement.
Until the transaction closes, Salesforce and Braze remain separate companies. Their teams will need to work through the regulatory process and subsequent integration planning before the full impact of the combination becomes clear.
For enterprise marketers, the strategic rationale is clear: the deal aims to bring customer data, AI capabilities and real-time engagement closer together as brands seek more connected and responsive customer experiences.
About Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud software company providing customer relationship management, data, analytics, marketing, sales, service and AI capabilities. Its platform helps organisations manage customer relationships and business processes, with products including Customer 360, Marketing Cloud, Data 360 and Agentforce.
About Braze
Braze is a customer engagement platform that helps brands deliver personalised communications across mobile applications, websites, email, SMS, WhatsApp and other channels. Its technology supports real-time customer engagement, journey orchestration and AI-powered optimisation.
Source and Credits
Salesforce Announcement, 20 October 2026