{
  "id": 9287706,
  "title": "Salesforce CEO blames Microsoft for not investing in OpenAI",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/salesforce-ceo-blames-microsoft-for-not-investing-in-openai",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-23T05:36:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/marc-benioff-says-because-of-microsoft-salesforce-could-not-invest-in-openai-salesforce-ceo-says-i-knew-sam-altman-very-well-i-was-like-/articleshow/134426696.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, said on his podcast that he wished to invest in OpenAI after learning about the company, but Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, denied him the chance. Microsoft's 27% ownership of OpenAI prevented Salesforce from investing. Benioff explained that Microsoft, being a direct rival of Salesforce in enterprise software, kept the door shut for Salesforce. Consequently, Salesforce sought out alternative AI startups and invested heavily in Anthropic, resulting in a stake now valued at around $5 billion. Salesforce's investment in Anthropic could potentially earn them tens of billions of dollars. Benioff believes that Anthropic's Claude is now a crucial model across Salesforce's Slack and Agentforce. The partnership has also led to Salesforce spending $300 million on Anthropic tokens this year. Despite not investing in OpenAI, Salesforce has maintained a relationship with it and continues to work with Microsoft's AI platform.",
  "summary": "Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says Microsoft's stake in OpenAI stopped his company from investing in the ChatGPT maker. Speaking on Alex Heath's Sources podcast, Benioff said Sam Altman turned him down, pushing Salesforce towards rival Anthropic. That early 2023 bet is reportedly worth about $5 billion, and Benioff believes it could earn Salesforce tens of billions as Claude maker Anthropic…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}