Salesforce held talks to buy AI customer research startup Listen Labs for around $2 billion

Salesforce has recently been in talks to buy Listen Labs, an AI-powered customer research platform, for around $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Business Insider. The talks have not been finalized and could still fall apart, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Salesforce and Listen Labs did not respond to requests for comment.

Listen Labs provides AI-driven market analysis for brands such as Anthropic, Google, and Nestlé. For Salesforce, the reported talks fit a broader push to strengthen AI capabilities, with a particular focus on enterprise agents. A customer research platform could align with Salesforce’s enterprise software focus, especially where brands want faster analysis of customer and market signals.

If finalized, the Listen Labs deal would join a recent wave of AI acquisitions cited by Business Insider. The article notes Nvidia acquiring HuggingFace for around $12.9 billion and Stripe buying OpenRouter for around $8 billion. Salesforce also considered acquiring HuggingFace before it was sold to Nvidia, The Information reported, according to the Business Insider article.

Listen Labs was cofounded by Alfred Wahlforss and Florian Juengermann in 2023. The company was last valued at $500 million in a financing round earlier this year. Its backers include Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Conviction Partners, Pear, and Neo.