Salesforce acquires Waii to enhance AI-driven data access

Salesforce is set to acquire Waii, a startup specialising in a natural language-to-SQL platform, to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2026, aims to make data more accessible to business users who lack technical expertise in database query languages.

The acquisition allows Salesforce to integrate Waii's core technology directly into its Data Cloud. Waii's platform uses a metadata knowledge graph to understand an organisation's data environment, including schemas and relationships. This technology allows it to translate plain language questions into precise SQL queries. For example, a sales representative could ask a question like, "Which customers in region A are up for renewal?" and the system would provide the necessary data without the user needing to write any code.

Expanding the Salesforce ecosystem

This purchase is a direct move to enhance several Salesforce products. By adding Waii’s capabilities, Salesforce plans to make its Data Cloud more conversational. The technology will also bolster Tableau Next, allowing users to request data visualisations using natural language. This focus on "agentic analytics" aims to make data analysis and discovery more intuitive.

The Waii acquisition is part of a larger strategy by Salesforce to solidify its position in the AI-powered enterprise software market. This year, the company has also acquired Convergence.ai and is pursuing a USD 8 billion deal for Informatica. These moves indicate a clear push to build a comprehensive AI stack that handles data at every stage, from access and analysis to automated workflows.

Waii's founder and CEO, Gunther Hagleitner, stated that joining Salesforce will allow the company to bring its mission to millions of users. The goal is to close the gap between what people want to ask and what their data systems can understand. The company's technology is expected to form a unified semantic layer, allowing users and AI agents to communicate with any data source and retrieve important information.

The acquisition of Waii, a young startup founded in May 2023, reflects Salesforce's aggressive approach to building out its AI portfolio. While the financial details were not disclosed, the deal highlights the company's focus on making its platform more intelligent and user-friendly.