Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has criticized Microsoft’s past dealings with Slack, warning that the tech giant may use similar anticompetitive tactics against OpenAI in their partnership. Benioff made the comments in a recent video podcast with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin, referencing Microsoft’s history with Slack before Salesforce acquired it in 2020.
Benioff stated that Microsoft had done “horrible things” to Slack, accusing the company of running a “playbook” of anticompetitive behavior. He added that Microsoft’s actions were “pretty bad” and involved “a lot of dark stuff.” Benioff urged that this “playbook should get ripped up and thrown away.”
Benioff drew parallels between Microsoft’s behavior towards Slack and its actions during the 1990s browser wars with Netscape, describing Microsoft as a “company that wants to own it all, control it all.” He also accused Microsoft of snapping up startups and executing its own playbook.
Google and Salesforce just signed a huge $2.5 billion AI deal
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, leveraging its GPT models in their partnership. However, a recent change to the partnership reduced Microsoft’s exclusivity rights, and the company is reportedly exploring alternative models to power Microsoft 365 Copilot.
“In the case of OpenAI, a partnership is gonna become a competition,” Benioff warned, suggesting that Microsoft’s tactics may shift from cooperation to competition.
