Salesforce CEO says Microsoft did “pretty nasty” things to Slack and its OpenAI partnership may be a recipe for disaster

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Known for his bluntness, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff frequently speaks out against Microsoft, often critically commenting on their AI projects. Recently, he’s been referring to Microsoft’s Copilot as a modern-day version of Clippy, implying it lacks value.

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Benioff, in his words, has referred to Microsoft as a “retailer of OpenAI,” suggesting that they rebranded ChatGPT into Copilot and marketed it distinctly to consumers. Notably, the executive recently sat down for an interview on a podcast with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin.

Marc Benioff stated that Microsoft engaged in harmful actions towards Slack prior to Salesforce purchasing the platform, which was completed between 2020 and 2021 at an estimated cost of $27 billion. It’s worth noting that Microsoft had initially considered acquiring Slack for around $8 billion, but ultimately decided against it to concentrate more on Skype (which is no longer operational) and the debut of Teams instead.

According to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff:

Upon our acquisition of Slack, you may find it disheartening to learn about the questionable actions Microsoft took against Slack prior to the purchase. These practices were quite detrimental and seemed to be part of their strategic plan, involving underhanded tactics. These actions have since been documented in a complaint filed by Slack with the EU before the acquisition.

For quite some time, Microsoft has been in fierce competition with Slack. Recently, Slack alleged that Microsoft employs anti-competitive strategies to preserve its market supremacy among businesses by incorporating Teams within the Microsoft Office 365 package.

Due to a complaint made by Slack to the EU Commission, Microsoft was compelled to offer Teams separately from Office 365 worldwide. Now, new customers can download Teams as a standalone application for approximately $5.25. Meanwhile, Office packages that don’t include Teams vary in price between $7.75 and $54.75.

Marc Benioff implied that Microsoft’s approach towards Slack was quite harsh. He suggested that the company frequently uses the same tactic to gain an edge against its competitors, drawing a parallel to the “browser wars” between Microsoft and Netscape in the late 90s.

“That playbook should get ripped up and thrown away,” continued Benioff.

Marc Benioff doesn’t think Microsoft will be in OpenAI’s future

Over the last several months, various online sources have been buzzing with rumors and reports indicating potential strain in Microsoft’s significant partnership with OpenAI. The speculation began when OpenAI announced its $500 billion Stargate project, a collaboration with SoftBank, aimed at building data centers nationwide across the U.S.

Previously, the company behind ChatGPT was observed voicing concerns that Microsoft wasn’t fulfilling their cloud computing requirements. This critique implied potential blame towards Microsoft if one of its competitors achieved a breakthrough in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) before them. As a result, the exclusive cloud provider status for Microsoft was revoked, although they still maintain the option to veto OpenAI’s future projects.

As a tech enthusiast, I find it intriguing that Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO, foresees Microsoft steering clear of OpenAI in the future. It seems that Microsoft is gradually distancing itself in its partnership with OpenAI, opting instead to create their own AI models. This move suggests a desire for independence from overreliance on OpenAI and a step towards self-sufficiency in AI development.

As a tech enthusiast, I found that absolutely captivating! It’s clear that Microsoft isn’t just playing the same game as OpenAI; instead, they seem to be charting their own course. And let me tell you, Microsoft isn’t about sitting on the sidelines or sharing the spotlight. When they spot a promising company or startup, their thought process goes something like this: “Why isn’t that part of our universe?” They strive for ownership and control, constantly seeking ways to integrate new innovations into their own realm.

As a tech enthusiast, I recently learned from an IT Pro chat that Microsoft views OpenAI as a partner on cutting-edge models. The intrigue lies in witnessing how this collaboration unfolds, particularly after Microsoft has acknowledged ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI, as a competitor in search and AI.

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2025-05-08 13:03