A move announced by the software-as-a-service giant Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) is sending the stock price of a relatively unknown AI marketing firm surging this morning. Here’s what you need to know.

On Tuesday morning, Salesforce announced plans to acquire digital marketing firm Braze (Nasdaq: BRZE) for about $5.66 billion. According to the terms of the deal, Salesforce will pay Braze Class A common stockholders $47.50 in cash per share. 

Braze’s AI-powered multichannel marketing solutions will be integrated into Salesforce’s core offerings, which Salesforce believes will give it an edge with its enterprise solutions.

This is especially true at a time when Wall Street has become concerned about a so-called SaaSpocalypse. Business models of legacy software-as-a-service companies are feared to be under threat as businesses increasingly turn to AI solutions to meet their needs.

“AI is raising the bar for marketers, who now need agentic solutions that can understand customers, make decisions, and act in real time,” Salesforce noted in a release announcing the news, adding that “Braze’s real-time engagement and AI decisioning capabilities are expected to complement all four layers of Salesforce’s architecture — Data 360, Customer 360, Agentforce, and SIForce.”

While even those outside the tech industry have likely heard of Salesforce, Braze is a much smaller and lesser-known company.

It is headquartered in New York and was originally founded in 2011. Its primary focus is as a multichannel marketing provider for enterprise customers to help them better understand and interact with their consumers.

Braze allows companies to interact with their customers across multiple channels, including WhatsApp, email, mobile websites, and more.

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