Director, AI Labs Scouts

Salesforce, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 171,000 - 273,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce, Inc. is seeking a Director of AI Ventures in San Francisco to map emerging AI technologies, build relationships across founders, labs, and investors, and identify acquisition, licensing, or partnership opportunities.

You will lead market intelligence and develop strategic viewpoints for AI-Labs leadership while collaborating with M&A and Finance to move opportunities forward. You will attend industry events to build proprietary insights and continuously refine where Salesforce should

Qualifications

• Experience in DeepTech and product-centric venture capital, startup investing, company building, or a highly relevant AI ecosystem role.
• Strong network across founders, labs, professors, investors, and emerging technology companies.
• Deep curiosity and fluency in AI markets and technologies, and enterprise software.
• Ability to move between technical trends, business models, founder assessment, and strategic implications.
• Strong executive communication and judgment.
• Ideally a former founder, senior associate/principal/junior partner from a leading VC firm, or equivalent ecosystem profile.

Responsibilities

• Build and continuously maintain a landscape of companies, labs, founders, technologies, investors, and emerging categories within your focus area.
• Source acquisition, partnership, licensing, acquihire, and strategic opportunities before they become broadly marketed.
• Maintain deep relationships with founders, professors, VCs, accelerators, technical communities, and other ecosystem leaders.
• Attend and sponsor relevant conferences, hackathons, founder gatherings, and industry events to build proprietary market intelligence.
• Produce concise assessments of emerging companies and categories for AI Labs leadership.
• Develop and constantly refresh clear points of view on where AI markets are moving and where Salesforce should build, buy, partner, or continue watching.
• Partner with M&A and Strategic Finance to transition qualified opportunities into formal diligence and deal processes.

Skills

DeepTech VC

AI markets

Enterprise software

Executive communication

Founders network

Job description

Job Category

Development & Strategy

Job Details

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn't a buzzword - it's a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You're in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.

AI Labs is on a mission to grow Salesforce into America's next $1.5T AI mainstay, from ASICs to Agents. This includes building a proactive market intelligence and venture sourcing capability to identify important basic and applied AI companies and technologies before they enter competitive acquisition and strategic investment processes.

As Director of AI Ventures, you will continuously map emerging AI technologies, products, and markets, developing relationships across the ecosystem to identify founders, teams, and technologies that could materially strengthen a market-leading AI strategy.

What You'll Do

• Build and continuously maintain a landscape of companies, labs, founders, technologies, investors, and emerging categories within your focus area.
• Source acquisition, partnership, licensing, acquihire, and strategic opportunities before they become broadly marketed.
• Maintain deep relationships with founders, professors, VCs, accelerators, technical communities, and other ecosystem leaders.
• Attend and sponsor relevant conferences, hackathons, founder gatherings, and industry events to build proprietary market intelligence.
• Produce concise assessments of emerging companies and categories for AI Labs leadership.
• Develop and constantly refresh clear points of view on where AI markets are moving and where Salesforce should build, buy, partner, or continue watching.
• Partner with M&A and Strategic Finance to transition qualified opportunities into formal diligence and deal processes.

What We're Looking For

• Experience in DeepTech and product-centric venture capital, startup investing, company building, or a highly relevant AI ecosystem role.
• Strong network across founders, labs, professors, investors, and emerging technology companies.
• Deep curiosity and fluency in AI markets and technologies, and enterprise software.
• Ability to move between technical trends, business models, founder assessment, and strategic implications.
• Strong executive communication and judgment.
• Ideally a former founder, senior associate/principal/junior partner from a leading VC firm, or equivalent ecosystem profile.

Note:

This is not an M&A execution role. Success is measured by the quality of the relationships/access, market intelligence, and opportunities created upstream of the deal process.

Unleash Your Potential

When you join Salesforce, you'll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we'll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.

Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates' resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see the Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that's inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications - without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions. The typical base salary range for this position is $171,200 - $273,000 annually. In select cities within the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan area, the base salary range for this role is $205,800 - $298,400 annually. The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.