Marc Benioff goes on the offensive: 'This is not the SaaSpocalypse'
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is pushing back against the 'SaaSpocalypse' narrative, arguing that AI agents are driving growth rather than replacing traditional software seats. The company reported strong earnings and a new partnership with Anthropic to integrate Claude into its platform.
Why it matters
This addresses a critical debate in the tech industry regarding whether AI agents will cannibalize the subscription-based software model that currently dominates enterprise tech.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Bloomberg/Getty Images Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff dismissed fears of SaaSpocalypse after the company's latest earnings report. Salesforce's stock dropped 19% this year, but after-hours trading rose over 12% post-earnings. Salesforce also announced a partnership with Anthropic to add Salesforce data and actions in Claude. Marc Benioff is going on the offensive about the so-called SaaSpocalypse. "This nonsense of this SaaSpocalypse , I think it's time for it to stop," the Salesforce CEO said during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Benioff used the call to push back on fears that AI threatens traditional software companies. "Our seats were supposed to decline. Instead, Agentforce Sales, Services, Slack all saw year-over-year growth," Benioff said. "We were told customers would abandon us. But attrition is near its lowest level ever." Benioff's comments land in the middle of one of Silicon Valley's biggest debates: the SaaSpocalypse.
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