Salesforce agrees to acquire AI startup Cresta for about $2.7 billion

The deal hands Salesforce a voice-first customer service platform used by Marriott, Comcast and several major airlines Salesforce has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, an AI startup that builds software for customer service calls. The Information reports the price at approximately $2.7 billion. The deal was announced on November 2, 2026. It is one of Salesforce’s largest bets yet that the future of customer support will be spoken, not typed. What Salesforce is actually buying Cresta works on the phone side of customer service. The company’s platform does two jobs at once. It runs autonomous voice agents that can handle calls by themselves. It also coaches human representatives in real time while they are on a call. When a call doesn’t need a human at all, the voice agent can take it instead. That split matters to large companies. Many of them want automation, but they aren’t ready to let a bot handle every angry customer whose flight just got cancelled. Cresta’s customer list gives Salesforce instant credibility in that market. Clients include Marriott, Comcast, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and Cox Communications. The transaction is expected to close in Salesfor...