Salesforce to invest $15 billion in San Francisco as AI race heats up

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Salesforce CRM.N said on Monday it would invest $15 billion in San Francisco over the next five years to accelerate AI adoption, as the cloud software provider looks to sharpen its competitive edge against tech giants.

Founded in San Francisco in 1999 and still headquartered there, Salesforce has been integrating AI into its products, including workplace messaging platform Slack, as it jostles with companies such as ServiceNow NOW.N, Oracle ORCL.N and Microsoft MSFT.O to win businesses eager to adopt the booming technology.

Salesforce said the latest investment would support a new AI incubator hub on its San Francisco campus and help companies adopt AI agents, which can perform tasks on behalf of the users.

"This $15 billion investment reflects our deep commitment to our hometown — advancing AI innovation, creating jobs and helping companies and our communities thrive," CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement.

The announcement comes ahead of the company's Dreamforce conference, scheduled to take place between October 14 and October 16 in San Francisco. The annual conference is expected to draw nearly 50,000 attendees and generate $130 million in local revenue, Salesforce said.

The company, which has more than 76,000 employees globally, last week announced plans to spend $1 billion in Mexico over the next five years. It began operating in Mexico in 2006.

Salesforce shares were up nearly 1% in morning trading. They have fallen around 28% so far this year.

Earlier in the day, the company also launched its "Agentforce 360" AI platform globally.

The company forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates in September. It had also announced a $20 billion increase to its existing share buyback program at the time.