Salesforce Acquires AI Marketing Startup Qualified

Salesforce has struck an agreement to acquire Qualified, a seven-year-old startup that helps Salesforce customers generate sales leads from their websites.

Terms weren’t disclosed, but Salesforce is paying between $1 billion and $1.5 billion for Qualified, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. A Salesforce spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment. Qualified hasn’t previously publicly disclosed its valuation.

The deal reflects the large number of companies that are still using the web to generate sales leads. Qualified sells an AI agent called Piper that companies can use to greet website visitors, determine what products they’re interested in, and relay this information to human salespeople. Salesforce already offers similar features through its agent-building service, Agentforce, but Qualified, co-founded by former Salesforce executives, has deeper experience in this area.

Qualified has raised more than $160 million from investors such as Salesforce Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Norwest and Sapphire Ventures, according to Pitchbook. The company’s last funding came in 2022 when it raised a $95 million Series C round led by Sapphire Ventures.