Salesforce acquires UK AI startup Convergence one year after launch

US SaaS giant Salesforce has snapped up London-based AI agent startup Convergence, which was only founded a year ago.

Convergence was founded by Marvin Purtorab and Andy Toulis, who both worked at Shopify and AI enterprise firm Cohere.

AI agents are currently one of the hottest areas in the AI space, and Salesforce sees Convergence's agents as a good fit with Salesforce's big play in this area, Agentforce.

Marc Benioff, Salesforce co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch he expects Salesforce customers to deploy one billion AI agents in 2025 and that AI agents will allow companies to have an unlimited workforce.

According to the press release, Convergence’s UK team brings expertise in  “AI agent design” and “autonomous task execution”, which will "help accelerate the development of next-generation agents designed for increasingly sophisticated workflows”.

Financial details of the deal are not known. The startup is backed by Balderton Capital, which led its $12m pre-seed round, and Salesforce Ventures and Shopify Ventures.

Convergence’s staff includes former Google DeepMind, Meta, and PolyAI employees.

According to James Wise, partner, Balderton Capital, Convergence has hired “some of the best AI talent in Europe” but he said “joining Salesforce wasn’t in the plan”.

Adam Evans, EVP & GM, Salesforce AI platform, said: "We're looking towards a future where Agentforce can empower our customers with AI agents that don't just follow instructions, but truly perceive, reason, and adapt to the complexities of modern digital workflows.

"Imagine AI assistants that can intuitively navigate ever-changing interfaces and intelligently manage intricate tasks with a new level of resilience and human-like ingenuity – that’s the kind of step-change we're eager to explore.”

Salesforce also said the acquisition would mark the foundation of its AI R&D operation in London.

Jayesh Govindarajan, EVP AI/ML engineering, said: “London is a global leader in AI innovation, and this acquisition will lay the foundation for a growing centre of AI R&D here—one where Convergence will form the nucleus of a world-class AI lab that expands over time.

“With the city’s concentration of pioneering scientists and engineers, we are confident this investment will accelerate our AI strategy and bring the next wave of innovation to life.”