Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff disclosed plans to spend roughly $300 million on Anthropic’s AI this year, primarily for coding, calling the AI startup “a rocket ship that will not stop.”
Benioff Backs Anthropic
Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Benioff said coding agents have unlocked capabilities that were previously out of reach, including faster software deployment, AI-driven outbound prospecting and the ability to implement and sell products at the same time.
“I can do things that I just could not do before. I can go faster than ever before. I can implement my software and sell it at the same time. I’ve never been able to do that before.”
Benioff was clear in his praise, saying, “These coding agents are awesome. Anthropic is awesome.”
From SaaSpocalypse To $300M Opportunity
CRM shares have fallen more than 31% amid broader SaaS sector fears that AI could render enterprise software obsolete. Anthropic’s initial Claude Cowork launch in February helped spark the “SaaSpocalypse” sell-off in software stocks. That same month, the company’s Claude Code Security launch rattled cybersecurity incumbents, a sign of how broadly Anthropic is moving into territory once dominated by legacy software.
Salesforce has also launched Headless 360, an API-first platform with 60+ MCP tools designed to give AI agents, including Claude Code, direct access to its enterprise stack. “I am going to probably use $300 million of Anthropic this year at Salesforce coding,” Benioff said.
The AI startup led by Dario Amodei and valued at roughly $900 billion, has been in the news on multiple fronts. NBA champion Tristan Thompson recently disclosed that he holds equity in the startup through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
Anthropic is expected to go public later this year.
What’s Going On With CRM Stock?
Salesforce has a market capitalization of $141.94 billion, a 52-week high of $292.17 and a 52-week low of $163.52.
The large-cap stock of the technology company has dropped 40.41% over the past 12 months.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRM stock is experiencing a negative price trend across all time frames.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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