Key Takeaways
- Salesforce announced on Thursday that it will locate its first artificial intelligence (AI) center in London.
- The US-based software giant noted that the UK's AI market is expected to grow to more than $1 trillion by 2035.
- Salesforce said on Thursday it would invest $200 million in UK AI companies as part of a commitment to spend $4 billion on AI growth and innovation in the UK over the next five years.
Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) was the best-performing stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday after the customer relationship management (CRM) software giant announced plans to open its first artificial intelligence (AI) center in London.
The company said its London centre will “bring together industry experts, partners and customers to foster collaboration and advance AI innovation, while providing vital upskilling opportunities.”
Committed to spending $4 billion on AI growth in the UK
The plans are part of a pledge made by Salesforce last year to spend $4 billion over the next five years on AI growth and innovation in the UK.
In addition to its new AI center in the Bluefin building in London's Bankside district, Salesforce announced that its investment arm, Salesforce Ventures, has invested more than $200 million in UK AI companies, including text-to-speech and voice generator ElevenLabs and bid-writing engine AutoGenAI.
Salesforce UKI CEO Zahra Bahrololoumi said the UK's AI market is predicted to exceed $1 trillion by 2035.
Despite Thursday's gains, Salesforce stock will remain in negative territory into 2024
Salesforce shares rose 2.6% to close at $242.76 on Thursday following the AI center announcement, but remained in negative territory for the year to date. The stock was hit last month by the company's earnings report amid concerns about its guidance, tightening IT budgets from enterprise customers and a longer-than-average trading cycle.
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