Report: Salesforce-Informatica Deal Falls Apart

Salesforce’s plans to purchase data-management software provider Informatica have reportedly stalled.

While the two sides were apparently in advanced talks for a deal earlier this month, the companies were not able to come to terms, Reuters reported Sunday (April 21), citing a source familiar with the matter.

Salesforce provides cloud-based software that assistants companies in managing customer relationships, while Informatica works with businesses such as Toyota and Unilever to help them manage and analyze the data they collect.

Informatica has recently launched new tools building on its artificial-intelligence (AI) capabilities, such as Claire GPT, a generative AI offering that helps companies handle data.

Had the deal to purchase Informatica — valued at around $11 billion — gone through, it would have ranked among Salesforce’s biggest, and the largest since the company acquired Slack for $28 billion in 2021, its biggest purchase ever.

PYMNTS has contacted both companies for comment but hasn’t received a reply.

As noted here last month, Salesforce is among a group of tech companies that recently inked an open letter underscoring a “collective responsibility” to “maximize AI’s benefits and mitigate the risks” to society, marking the latest effort by the tech sector to call for building AI responsibly.

The concept of responsible AI had gained attention after Elon Musk sued OpenAI, alleging that the ChatGPT creator had violated its original promise to function as a nonprofit, and arguing that the potential dangers of AI should not be overseen by profit-driven tech giants like Microsoft.

But as PYMNTS wrote, some observers argue there is a long way to go before the goals of responsible AI are achieved on a wider scale.

“Unfortunately, companies will not attain it by adopting many of the ‘responsible AI’ frameworks available today,” Kjell Carlsson, head of AI strategy at Domino Data Lab, said in an interview with PYMNTS.

“Most of these provide idealistic language but little else. They are frequently disconnected from real-world AI projects, often flawed, and typically devoid of implementable advice.”

Meanwhile, Salesforce also recently rolled out an AI-powered platform designed to leverage data from healthcare organizations, enhance and personalize patient care and ease the administrative and operational burdens faced by healthcare providers and care teams.

As PYMNTS wrote, the launch is part of a growing trend of healthcare companies using AI and machine learning to allow for data-driven decision-making, predictive analytics and personalized treatment recommendations.