The company will roll out its AI-based Agentforce technology in Singapore.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), a leading provider of customer relationship management software, saw its stock rise about 3% Wednesday after the firm announced a major new AI investment.
The company announced this week that it was investing $1 billion in Singapore over the next five years.
The $1 billion investment will be deployed to launch Salesforce’s AI software called Agentforce, which uses AI models to provide support for employees and customers.
Singapore is a key market for Salesforce. Company officials said the move affirms Salesforce’s commitment to accelerate Singapore’s digital transformation and Agentforce adoption.
“We are in an incredible new era of digital labor where every business will be transformed by autonomous agents that augment the work of humans, revolutionizing productivity and enabling every company to scale without limits,” Marc Benioff, chair and CEO at Salesforce, said. “Singapore is at the forefront of this shift, and as the world’s largest provider of digital labor through our Agentforce platform, Salesforce is thrilled to expand our work with the business community and our longtime partners in the region to drive innovation, productivity and growth.”
Agentforce AI agents
The digital Agentforce platform deploys AI agents that can reason, decide, act, and drive meaningful outcomes. Singapore has seen the growth of its labor force slow over the years due to an aging population and declining birth rates. However, Agentforce offers an opportunity to expand the labor force in several key service and public sector roles.
“Singapore welcomes Salesforce’s investment, which will boost our ongoing efforts to build a vibrant hub for AI innovation and adoption across our economy. Salesforce’s initiatives in AI research and workforce development will strengthen our ecosystem by catalyzing innovation for key industries and corporates based in Singapore,” Jermaine Loy, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board, said.
Salesforce has been investing in Singapore for almost 20 years. In that time, it has established a significant customer base and partner network. Among its existing customers in the region are Singapore Airlines, Grab, M1, FairPrice Group, Ocean Network Express and PRISM+.
Further, it has long invested in AI in Singapore. In 2019, Salesforce expanded its AI Research team internationally, selecting Singapore as its first overseas AI Research hub location. Since then, the Singapore hub has contributed to the global development of AI for the industry.
Singapore Airlines to use Agentforce
Specifically, the AI Research hub has developed product innovations such as AIOps Agents for Salesforce. This new investment initiative will further drive Agentforce innovation while supporting Salesforce’s customers in the region.
In fact, Singapore Airlines will incorporate Agentforce, Einstein in Service Cloud, and Data Cloud into its customer case management system. Saleforce and Singapore Airlines also plan to co-develop AI solutions for airlines at the Salesforce AI Research hub in Singapore.
Salesforce stock jumped 3% on Wednesday and is down 14% year-to-date. It has been a solid performer over the years with a 13% average annualized return over the last 5 years. Over the past 10 years it has generated a 16% annual return.
