Salesforce’s Missionforce Sets Sights on Modernizing National Security with AI Agents

Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff describes artificial intelligence as being a “truly transformational technology with immense potential.” Since launching Agentforce, his company has been looking to infuse AI into every aspect of society. Now, it’s targeting our national security with the introduction of a new offering called Missionforce.

Led by Benioff’s Chief of Staff, Salesforce’s Chief Business Officer, and the firm’s CEO of Government Cloud, Kendall Collins, Missionforce is designed to leverage Salesforce’s AI, cloud, and platform prowess to modernize the United States’ defense, intelligence, and aerospace mission-critical workflows. The company touts that the service will transform the country’s national security apparatus into agentic enterprises, bringing together human employees with bots to “streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and enhance operational readiness.

“With Missionforce, we are doubling down on our commitment to the national security community,” Collins remarked in a statement. “With Missionforce, we’ll now bring the best of AI, cloud, and platform technology from the private sector to modernize critical areas, including personnel, logistics, and analytics.”

The enterprise tech firm contends the systems currently in use are antiquated, resulting in massive inefficiencies, and capital improvement projects are “billions over budget and years behind schedule.” With Missionforce, Salesforce aims to bring the same AI innovations it offers to the private sector to national security.

Salesforce is no stranger to providing technological support to the U.S. government—it is the company’s largest single customer. A core component of its public sector strategy is its Government Cloud, which Collins leads. The company also holds contracts with numerous government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

However, like some other tech companies, Salesforce’s work with the government hasn’t always been well-received. Tech workers and activists protested against the company in 2018 over its contract with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, which used Salesforce’s Analytics and Community and Service Cloud programs. Protests continued in 2019, this time with demonstrators interrupting Benioff’s keynote at Salesforce’s signature Dreamforce conference.

All that said, Salesforce isn’t the only one chasing after the U.S. government and pitching its AI offering. OpenAI has its public sector version of ChatGPT, which it launched in January, and has also agreed to license its enterprise ChatGPT tier to the government for $1 annually. Anthropic and Google have also agreed to provide AI to the U.S. Additionally, Salesforce’s AI rival, Microsoft, recently landed a deal with the General Services Administration to provide over $3 billion in AI assistance over the next three years. Additionally, federal agencies will receive Microsoft 365 Copilot at no cost for up to 12 months.

Even so, all of the companies above have signed agreements with the GSA. However, it appears that Salesforce is the only one specifically addressing national security systems and processes. It’s a technical but essential distinction.

“The goal is simple: to help our warfighters and the organizations that support them operate smarter, faster, and more efficiently. There’s never been a more important time to serve those who serve,” Collins stated.

Featured Image: The Salesforce logo on display at the company's Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 16, 2024. Photo credit: Ken Yeung