Salesforce to Acquire Fin (formerly Intercom) for $3.6B(salesforce.com)
323 points by colesantiago 2 days ago | 239 comments
tl;dr: Salesforce is acquiring Fin (formerly Intercom) for approximately $3.6 billion to bolster its Agentforce platform with Fin's AI customer service agent, which runs on a proprietary model called Apex and reportedly resolves 76% of support volume end-to-end. The deal targets faster time-to-value for SMB and commercial customers and brings Fin's 30,000+ customer base to Salesforce, with closing expected in Q4 of Salesforce's fiscal 2027.
HN Discussion:
  • AI customer service can be excellent when executed well, supporting Fin's value proposition
  • AI support agents are frustrating and provide negative value compared to humans
  • Intercom/Fin has little moat as businesses can build their own AI support agents cheaply
  • Acquisition is strategic competitive move by Benioff against Sierra and to control CRM integration
  • ~$3.6B valuation seems surprisingly low given Fin's market position and undermines broader AI valuations