Salesforce to buy AI customer-research startup Listen Labs in a reported $2B deal

Salesforce signed a definitive agreement on October 1 to acquire Listen Labs, a San Francisco startup whose agents recruit respondents, run interviews, analyze answers and build behavioral digital twins to simulate how customers will react before a decision is made. Business Insider earlier reported a roughly $2 billion price, and the company's revenue was running at about $30 million annualized as of September, implying a multiple near 67x. Listen Labs had raised $100 million, including a $69 million Series B led by Ribbit Capital in January and a Sequoia-led Series A; the team joins Salesforce AI Labs and the deal is expected to close in Salesforce's fiscal Q4 2027. It is a steep price for proprietary customer-insight data to feed CRM agents.