When we think of enterprise SaaS companies today, just about every startup in the space aspires to be a platform. That means they want people using their stack of services to build entirely new applications, either to enhance the base product, or even build entirely independent companies. But when Salesforce launched Force.com, the company’s Platform […]
View More How Salesforce paved the way for the SaaS platform approachCategory: Marc Benioff
Salesforce at 20 offers lessons for startup success
Salesforce is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. The company that was once a tiny irritant going after giants in the 1990s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market, such as Oracle and Siebel Systems, has grown into full-fledged SaaS powerhouse. With an annual run rate exceeding $14 billion, it is by far the most successful pure cloud […]
View More Salesforce at 20 offers lessons for startup successWhen brands violate customer trust, it’s tough to win it back
Trust is a fundamental building block of any healthy relationship, whether that’s between individuals or companies and customers. If you can’t trust the company you are doing business with to do the right thing by you, it’s hard to continue the relationship. Too often, we have seen this trust broken when it comes to data […]
View More When brands violate customer trust, it’s tough to win it backWith $90 million in funding, the Ginkgo spinoff Motif joins the fight for the future of food
Continuing its quest to become the Amazon Web Services for biomanufacturing, Ginkgo Bioworks has launched a new spinoff called Motif Ingredients with $90 million in funding to develop proteins that can serve as meat and dairy replacements. It’s the second spinout for Ginkgo since late 2017 when the company partnered with Bayer to launch Joyn […]
View More With $90 million in funding, the Ginkgo spinoff Motif joins the fight for the future of foodMLG cofounder Mike Sepso joins 100 Thieves board of directors
Mike Sepso has joined the board of directors for 100 Thieves, an esports and content creation brand. Sepso cofounded Major League Gaming in 2002, bringing the first true semblance of infrastructure to competitive gaming. MLG became the biggest independent esports league in the world, and played a big part in the evolution of esports as […]
View More MLG cofounder Mike Sepso joins 100 Thieves board of directorsBill Gates-backed Vicarious Surgical adds a virtual reality twist to robots in the operating room
In an operating room in rural Idaho, doctors prep a patient for surgery. They make a tiny, thumb-sized incision into the patient and insert a small robot while across the country a surgeon puts on a virtual reality headset, grabs their controllers, and prepares to operate. While this scene may seem like science fiction now, […]
View More Bill Gates-backed Vicarious Surgical adds a virtual reality twist to robots in the operating roomSustainable Ocean Alliance nets $1.5 million donation from Benioffs
Healthy oceans are on the minds of Marc and Lynne Benioff, and they showed it today with a $1.5 million donation to the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, a new non-profit attempting to promote and incubate conservation-focused startups. The money will considerably expand the organization’s upcoming Ocean Solutions accelerator.
View More Sustainable Ocean Alliance nets $1.5 million donation from BenioffsWorld Economic Forum warns of AI’s potential to worsen global inequality
Tech and political leaders sounded the alarm bell today about the potential for artificial intelligence to exacerbate huge inequalities across the world. The mood music coming out of the World Economic Forum is that AI is seen as having great potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues (such as climate change), but […]
View More World Economic Forum warns of AI’s potential to worsen global inequalityOil and gas giants Chevron and Occidental are backing tech to combat carbon emissions
Carbon Engineering, a Canadian company developing technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and process it for use in enhanced oil recovery or in the creation of new synthetic fuels, has locked in financing from two big industry backers — Chevron and Occidental Petroleum — to bring its products to market. The undisclosed amount […]
View More Oil and gas giants Chevron and Occidental are backing tech to combat carbon emissionsSalesforce keeps rolling with another banner year in 2018
The good times kept on rolling this year for Salesforce with all of the requisite ingredients of a highly successful cloud company — the steady revenue growth, the expanding product set and the splashy acquisitions. The company also opened the doors of its shiny new headquarters, Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, a testament to its […]
View More Salesforce keeps rolling with another banner year in 2018LearnLux raises $2M from Sound Ventures, Marc Benioff to help employees make financial decisions
LearnLux offers businesses access to its financial wellness platform, a digital product that helps employees make important financial decisions.
View More LearnLux raises $2M from Sound Ventures, Marc Benioff to help employees make financial decisionsEnvoy raises $43 million to digitize your office
The office might not seem like an area in desperate need of disruption, but Envoy — a Silicon Valley company used to sign in over 100,000 visitors at offices across the world each day; and a TechCrunch SF office neighbor! — has raised $43 million to do just that. The company started life five years […]
View More Envoy raises $43 million to digitize your office