• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechSalesforce

Salesforce Snaps Up Sales Software Startup

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 23, 2015, 6:09 PM ET
The Davos World Economic Forum 2015
Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015. World leaders, influential executives, bankers and policy makers attend the 45th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from Jan. 21-24. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Simon Dawson — Bloomberg via Getty Images

UPDATE, Dec. 24: A statement from SteelBrick CEO Godard Abel has been added to this article.

Salesforce (CSCO) is paying $360 million to buy SteelBrick, one of the many cloud-centric startups that have built a business on top of Salesforce’s software for sales teams.

The deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, is expected to close before April 30.

SteelBrick sells “quote-to-cash” software that uses data from Salesforce’s customer relationship management system to automate the process of generating sales proposals. It uses data already in the system to automatically suggest pricing for specific scenarios, such as whether it involves a repeat customer.

The SteelBrick software is used by more than 350 businesses, ranging from fast-growing software companies such as Cloudera and Marketo (MKTO), to divisions of conglomerates like Mitsubishi Electric.

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

SteelBrick’s previous venture infusion was in mid-October, when it raised $48 million in a round led by Institutional Venture Partners at an unknown valuation. Salesforce Ventures was also an investor in SteelBrick.

Rumors about the acquisition surfaced last week in a report by BusinessInsider, which, at the time, pegged the deal at $600 million. It turned out to be less, after accounting for the Salesforce Ventures investment.

Jason Green, co-founder and general partner at Emergence Capital, which was SteelBrick’s first outside investor in May 2014, said the startup wasn’t seeking a buyer but Salesforce was aggressive in its overtures. “It was a good outcome for the company, in a very short period of time,” Green said. In particular, Salesforce will help the SteelBrick team scale its sales and marketing outreach far more quickly, he said.

“Many of our team members have already enjoyed growing their careers in the vibrant Salesforce ecosystem as customers and partners for many years, and we’re excited to join Salesforce,” said SteelBrick’s CEO Godard Abel, in a blog about the acquisition. Abel was co-founder of Big Machines, a sales automation software company that was acquired by Oracle in 2013.

WATCH: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wants to eliminate gender pay gap.

SteelBrick’s most direct competitor is Apttus, which took in another $108 million funding round in early September, boosting its valuation to more than $1 billion. Apttus is expected to go public next year. Market research firm Gartner estimates market opportunity for this sort of software at $41 billion annually by 2018.

This is Salesforce’s biggest acquisition since July 2014, when it paid $390 million for RelateIQ, an application that alerts sales representatives about developments that could have an impact on upcoming pitch meetings. It’s been making much smaller deals, such as the buyout of artificial intelligence software company MinHash earlier this month.

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Trump announcing "reciprocal tariffs" in April of 2025.
MagazineDonald Trump
The 9 most disruptive deals of Trump’s first year back in the White House
By Geoff ColvinJanuary 20, 2026
12 hours ago
nadella
Big TechDavos
Satya Nadella’s biggest AI bubble warning yet is a challenge to the Fortune 500: It’s time to reinvent the knowledge worker
By Jake AngeloJanuary 20, 2026
13 hours ago
Image of various nation's flags over the World Economic Forum sign in Davos.
NewslettersEye on AI
At Davos, AI hype gives way to focus on ROI
By Jeremy KahnJanuary 20, 2026
13 hours ago
Larry Fink speaks behind a podium and in front of a blue "World Economic Forum" background.
AIDavos
BlackRock’s billionaire CEO warns AI could be capitalism’s next big failure after 30 years of unsustainable inequality after the Cold War
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 20, 2026
13 hours ago
a highway toll station
CryptoCryptocurrency
Mass texts and EZ-Pass phishing: $17 billion stolen in crypto scams, largely by the Chinese
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 20, 2026
15 hours ago
Successthe future of work
Forget the four-day workweek: CEO of the world’s largest workspace provider says it’s not coming, despite what Bill Gates and Elon Musk predict
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJanuary 20, 2026
16 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
AI
Elon Musk says that in 10 to 20 years, work will be optional and money will be irrelevant thanks to AI and robotics
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 19, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, January 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJanuary 20, 2026
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The U.S. Supreme Court could throw a wrench into Trump’s plan to take Greenland as soon as Tuesday
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 19, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Half of veterans leave their first post-military jobs in less than a year, and spouses face sky-high unemployment—this CEO has a $500 million fix
By Emma BurleighJanuary 19, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire Marc Andreessen spends 3 hours a day listening to podcasts and audiobooks—that’s nearly an entire 24-hour day each week
By Preston ForeJanuary 20, 2026
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
I oversee a lab where engineers try to destroy my life’s work. It's the only way to prepare for quantum threats
By Bernard VianJanuary 18, 2026
3 days ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.