Salesforce has agreed to acquire Airkit.ai, with the latter set to merge its tech with the CRM leader’s Service Cloud platform.
Airkit offers a low-code, AI-powered platform that allows users to build applications and experiences for customer service use cases.
These use cases include self-service tools, automated enrollment, and digital channel shift – to name just a few.
Moreover, the California-based firm has long supported Fortune 500 enterprises and many fast-growing companies with their innovative AI capabilities.
I’m excited to announce https://t.co/sKg6epwwgC has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by @Salesforce – @sehikian and I couldn’t be more proud of the Airkit team – thank you to all of our customers, partners and supporters! https://t.co/PwYBkmLf9p
— Adam Evans (@adamtevans) September 21, 2023
Following the acquisition, Adam Evans, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Airkit.ai, will continue to lead the firm in its operations.
Evans previously served in the same roles at RelateIQ, which Salesforce bought in 2014 and integrated into its Sales Cloud Einstein Copilot platform.
Thrilled to share the news, Bill Patterson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of C360 Applications, Salesforce, said:
The future of customer engagement will be powered by a new set of AI-driven customer experiences. Adam and team have a strong understanding of the Customer 360 Platform and are some of the best technologists we have worked with in helping Salesforce customers connect with their own customers in a whole new way.
“We are excited to bring the Airkit.ai team back to Salesforce, where they have a strong track record of innovation and a focus on customer success.”
Additionally, Airkit.ai’s inclusion into Salesforce will support Service, Sales, Marketing, and Commerce teams to progress further with customer engagement technologies with AI.
Evans added:
In the world of Generative AI, it’s clear we need new types of experiences that provide opportunities to transform the engagement experience.
At Airkit.ai, we’ve been doing this since our inception and view Salesforce, the customer company, as a perfect fit for Airkit.ai, the experience company.
Furthermore, Airkit.ai also plays a key role as a Salesforce AppExchange partner and Venture portfolio company.
As the acquisition proceeds, Salesforce is expected to welcome Airkit.ai staff and personnel following the full merger set to take place in the second half of the fiscal year 20224
What Askit.ai Brings to the Table
Firstly, the acquisition sets a precedent for Salesforce’s CRM capabilities. By leveraging Airkit.ai’s low and no-code tools, the company can go deeper in supporting greater digital-first business transformations.
This is becoming an increasingly important priority for many businesses as they link their operations with more intricate customer expectations.
However, the two traditional digital automation approaches have posed significant obstacles to this:
- The ‘Do it Yourself’ approach – This provides flexibility. Yet, many IT teams struggle with backlogged projects, leading them to fail to high-level specifications.
- Harnessing legacy tools – This offers rapid development speed. However, there are large trade-offs in production-grade quality and vital enterprise features.
Airkit’s customer engagement platform helps secure these benefits without the drawbacks – and in recent months, it has harnessed GenAI to take its offering to the next level.
Indeed, following the firm’s rebranding to Airkit.ai, it released its GPT-4-powered platform. With the innovative solution, enterprises can build chatbots for customer service uses.
Currently, OpenTable, ShipBob, and others use it to create such chatbots to tackle customer queries on product information, refunds, and other key data.
