Salesforce's $100B acquirer on build-vs-buy, outcome pricing, and an AI valuation reckoning
a16z · youtube · 2026-11-06
a16z hosts Salesforce's John Somorjai, who oversaw nearly $100B in acquisitions (Slack, MuleSoft, and a new wave of AI-native companies). Key takeaways:
- What makes a startup worth buying when software is easy to build: roadmap acceleration, exceptional talent, instant reach to 15,000 Salesforce reps
- Outcome-based pricing is replacing seats in parts of enterprise software; Slack framed as the ideal interface for agents
- What kills deals in diligence; parts of today's VC market are overvalued and due for a reckoning
- Salesforce Ventures is expanding from enterprise software into frontier AI and robotics
Related event: Salesforce M&A Chief Discusses AI-Era Buy-vs-Build on a16z Podcast(2 posts)→
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