U.S. sales and marketing software giant Salesforce announced Monday that is has signed an agreement to acquire Datorama, which develops cloud-based artificial intelligence-powered marketing analytics software.
Israeli media reported the deal was worth some $850 million, but neither company would confirm the details.
Salesforce has been a key beneficiary of so-called digital transformations, a growing trend in which companies move their operations onto lower cost cloud-based services that offer more scalability.
Founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Ran Sarig and Efi Cohen and advertising executive Katrin Ribant, Datorama has more than 3,000 international customers, including PepsiCo, Ticketmaster, Trivago, Unilever, Pernod, GoDaddy, L'Oréal, Ricard and Foursquare, to name a few.
The Tel Aviv-based firm has 17 offices worldwide and employs 400 people. It is expected to remain headquartered in Israel, where it will operate as a Salesforce research and development unit.
Datorama has developed a platform that enables advertisers to gather data about the impact their campaigns have on their revenue. The company integrates data from all of a company's advertising and sales channels to present the impact of advertising on sales in real time.
Salesforce plans to integrate Datorama's product into its campaign and customer relations management platforms.
"With Salesforce, we are excited to expand upon on our core mission – to help marketers integrate and gain insight from one single source of data truth," Sarig said in a statement.
"Salesforce's acquisition of Datorama will enhance Salesforce's Marketing Cloud with expanded data integration, intelligence and analytics, enabling marketers to unlock insights across Salesforce data and the myriad of technologies used in today's marketing and consumer engagement ecosystem. With one unified view of data and insights, companies can make smarter decisions across the entire customer journey and optimize engagement at scale.
"For Datorama customers, today's announcement means more of what you love and have come to expect from Datorama. We will move with greater speed and support. We couldn't be more excited about this opportunity."
Speaking with Israel Hayom, he said, "It's amazing that a concept we came up with six years ago has evolved to where we are today. Datorama will continue to climb to new heights. We plan to develop the R&D center in Israel and become a leading technology center."
