Listen Labs Abandons $1.5B Funding Round Amid Acquisition Talks with Salesforce
Listen Labs, an AI-driven market research startup, recently abandoned a planned $125 million Series C funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation after signing a term sheet led by Menlo Ventures. The deal never closed due to ongoing acquisition discussions with CRM giant Salesforce, which is reportedly in talks to buy the company for around $2 billion. While no final agreement has been reached, Listen Labs may return to market seeking a higher valuation if those talks fail. Listen Labs competes in an emerging space of AI-powered customer research and currently generates about $30 million in annualized revenue. Its potential acquisition by Salesforce could enhance the CRM company’s AI capabilities but might also be seen as overvalued at 67 times Listen Labs’ revenue, according to a source familiar with Salesforce negotiations.
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Topics: AI Market Research Salesforce Startups Venture Capital