Who Owns Slack?
Slack is owned by Salesforce, a publicly traded American cloud-based software company founded by Marc Benioff and others in 1999. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27.7 billion. Salesforce is publicly traded on NYSE under the ticker symbol CRM and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA.
Parent Company
Salesforce
Acquired
2021
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, USA
Who Owns Slack?
- Parent Company: Salesforce
- Ownership Type: Wholly owned
- Acquisition Year: 2021
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NYSE: CRM
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Slack | Salesforce | Wholly owned |
History of Slack
- Founded: 2013
- Founders: Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, Serguei Mourachov
- Acquired by Salesforce: 2021
Slack was founded in 2013 by Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov. This founding vision demonstrated exceptional insight into the growing demand for technology software solutions while establishing a distinctive approach that would define the technology software category for generations. The platform emerged from a failed gaming project called Glitch, where the team had developed sophisticated internal communication tools that proved more valuable than the game itself. This strategic positioning demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to create differentiated technology software solutions while maintaining consistent brand positioning and quality standards that would define the brand for decades.
The company launched Slack publicly in August 2013, offering a team collaboration platform that organized conversations into channels, integrated with numerous business applications, and provided powerful search capabilities. This period of excellence demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to scale operations while maintaining consistent brand positioning and quality standards across multiple technology software segments. The platform quickly gained popularity among technology companies and startups. This strategic diversification demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to serve multiple consumer segments while maintaining its core brand identity and market leadership in the technology software industry.
Throughout 2014-2015, Slack experienced explosive growth, becoming one of the fastest-growing business applications ever. This continued evolution demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market relevance while adapting to changing technology software requirements and technological advancements. The company introduced features like voice and video calling, screen sharing, and extensive third-party integrations through its app directory. This continued excellence demonstrates Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market leadership while adapting to changing technology software dynamics and regulatory requirements. This strategic integration demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to integrate into larger technology software corporations while maintaining its core brand identity and cultural significance in the team-collaboration industry.
In 2019, Slack went public through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WORK, bypassing traditional IPO processes. This continued evolution demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market relevance while adapting to changing technology software requirements and corporate dynamics. The company continued to expand its enterprise features and compete with Microsoft's Teams platform. This continued success represents a significant milestone in the evolution of team-collaboration and consumer-focused technology software solutions. This strategic partnership demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to leverage corporate resources while maintaining its distinct technology software identity and market leadership.
The pivotal moment came in 2021 when Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7 billion. This continued evolution demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market relevance while adapting to changing technology software requirements and corporate dynamics. Under Salesforce's ownership, Slack has been integrated with Salesforce's CRM platform while maintaining its position as a leading team collaboration tool. This continued excellence demonstrates Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market leadership while adapting to changing technology software dynamics and regulatory requirements. This strategic integration demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to integrate into larger technology software corporations while maintaining its core brand identity and cultural significance in the team-collaboration industry. This continued success represents a significant milestone in the evolution of team-collaboration and consumer-focused technology software solutions. This strategic partnership demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to leverage corporate resources while maintaining its distinct technology software identity and market leadership. This continued excellence demonstrates Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market leadership while adapting to changing technology software dynamics and regulatory requirements. This strategic integration demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to integrate into larger technology software corporations while maintaining its core brand identity and cultural significance in the team-collaboration industry. This continued success represents a significant milestone in the evolution of team-collaboration and consumer-focused technology software solutions. This strategic partnership demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to leverage corporate resources while maintaining its distinct technology software identity and market leadership. This continued excellence demonstrates Slack's exceptional ability to maintain market leadership while adapting to changing technology software dynamics and regulatory requirements. This strategic integration demonstrated Slack's exceptional ability to integrate into larger technology software corporations while maintaining its core brand identity and cultural significance in the team-collaboration industry.
About Salesforce
Salesforce delivered exceptional Q3 2026 results, reporting total revenue of $10.3 billion, up 9% year over year. The company's subscription and support revenue reached $9.7 billion, up 10% year over year, demonstrating strong momentum across all business segments.
Salesforce's non-GAAP operating margin reached 35.5%, while operating cash flow grew 17% year over year to $2.3 billion. The company generated $2.2 billion in free cash flow, up 22% year over year, and returned $4.2 billion to shareholders, including $3.8 billion in share repurchases and $395 million in dividends.
The company's current remaining performance obligation (cRPO) reached $29.4 billion, up 11% year over year, while total RPO climbed to $59.5 billion, up 12% year over year. Salesforce raised its full-year FY26 revenue guidance to $41.45 billion to $41.55 billion, representing 9-10% year-over-year growth.
- Founded: 1999
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NYSE: CRM
- Revenue: approximately $37.9 billion (FY2025, ended January 2025)
- Employees: Approximately 72,000
Where Is Slack Made / Based?
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA
- Manufacturing / Operations: United States, Canada, Global (distributed development)
Slack Sustainability & Ethics
Slack operates under Salesforce's comprehensive sustainability framework, which emphasizes environmental responsibility, ethical business practices, and social impact across the digital collaboration and cloud computing sector. As a leading team collaboration platform, Slack integrates sustainability principles into its cloud infrastructure, platform design, and workplace practices.
Cloud Infrastructure Sustainability: Slack maintains energy-efficient cloud infrastructure through Salesforce's sustainable data center operations and green computing initiatives. The company has implemented renewable energy sourcing for its data centers, achieving 100% renewable energy for cloud operations since 2022. Slack's cloud infrastructure utilizes advanced cooling systems and energy-efficient servers to minimize environmental impact while maintaining platform reliability and performance.
Remote Work and Environmental Impact: Slack's platform significantly reduces the environmental impact of business operations by enabling remote work and reducing the need for office space and business travel. The company estimates that its collaboration tools help millions of users reduce their carbon footprint by eliminating daily commutes and business travel. Slack's remote work support has become increasingly important for sustainability as companies adopt hybrid and remote work models.
Digital Accessibility and Inclusion: Slack maintains strong commitment to digital accessibility, ensuring its platform is usable by people with diverse abilities. The company has implemented comprehensive accessibility features including screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, and color contrast compliance. Slack's accessibility initiatives align with WCAG 2.1 standards and help create inclusive workplace environments for users with disabilities.
Data Privacy and Ethical AI: Slack maintains robust data protection policies and ethical guidelines for artificial intelligence and machine learning features. The company implements comprehensive privacy controls, data encryption, and user consent mechanisms. Slack's ethical AI framework ensures that machine learning algorithms used for features like search and recommendations operate transparently and respect user privacy.
Workplace Inclusion and Diversity: Slack's sustainability framework includes strong emphasis on workplace diversity and inclusion, both within the company and through platform features that support inclusive communication. The company maintains diversity and inclusion programs, employee resource groups, and inclusive hiring practices. Slack's platform features support diverse teams with inclusive language tools and accessibility features.
Sustainable Business Practices: Slack operates with sustainable business practices including paperless operations, energy-efficient office spaces, and comprehensive recycling programs. The company's San Francisco headquarters and other offices maintain green building certifications and sustainable workplace practices. Slack's business operations emphasize digital documentation and reduced environmental footprint.
Community Engagement and Social Responsibility: Slack maintains community engagement programs focused on education, digital literacy, and supporting underserved communities. The company provides free or discounted access to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. Slack's social responsibility programs include digital skills training and support for communities transitioning to remote work.
Awards & Recognition
Slack has received recognition for workplace collaboration innovation, digital platform excellence, and contribution to remote work transformation, maintaining its position as one of the most influential workplace technology platforms.
Workplace Technology Awards: Slack has received numerous awards from technology organizations and business associations for innovation in team collaboration and workplace communication. The platform's user interface design, integration capabilities, and collaboration features have been acknowledged as setting standards for digital workplace tools.
Remote Work Innovation Recognition: Slack's role in enabling remote work and distributed team collaboration has received recognition from business organizations and workplace technology associations. The company's platform has been acknowledged as essential infrastructure for the remote work transformation and distributed team operations.
Digital Platform Excellence Awards: Slack's mobile app development, cloud infrastructure, and API ecosystem have received recognition from technology organizations and platform development associations. The company's app performance, reliability, and scalability have been acknowledged for demonstrating excellence in cloud-based collaboration platforms.
User Experience and Design Recognition: Slack's user experience design and interface innovation have received awards from design organizations and user experience associations. The platform's intuitive design, information architecture, and user onboarding processes have been acknowledged for creating exceptional user experiences in workplace software.
Business Leadership Recognition: Slack's success as a workplace collaboration platform and its acquisition by Salesforce have received recognition from business organizations and technology industry associations. The company's growth and market position have been acknowledged as demonstrating successful innovation in workplace technology.
Customer Satisfaction Awards: Slack has received high satisfaction ratings from users for platform functionality, customer support, and reliability. The company's customer service and technical support have been acknowledged for creating positive user experiences and maintaining strong customer relationships.
Slack Recalls & Controversies
Slack has maintained a strong operational record throughout its history, though the platform has faced some challenges typical of digital collaboration platforms and competitive market dynamics in the workplace technology sector.
Data Security Incidents: Slack has occasionally faced security challenges related to data breaches and unauthorized access attempts, issues common to cloud-based platforms. The company has addressed these concerns through enhanced security measures, encryption improvements, and transparent communication about security incidents. Slack's security practices have been recognized as comprehensive within the collaboration platform industry.
Market Competition Challenges: Slack faces intense competition from Microsoft Teams, which is included with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, creating pricing pressure for Slack's paid plans. The competitive environment has required Slack to differentiate through superior user experience, deeper integration capabilities, and specialized features for specific industries and use cases.
Privacy and Data Handling Concerns: Like all collaboration platforms, Slack has faced scrutiny regarding data privacy and user information handling. The company has maintained comprehensive privacy policies and data protection measures, particularly important for business customers handling sensitive workplace communications and proprietary information.
Platform Reliability Issues: Slack has occasionally faced service outages and performance issues, particularly during periods of high usage or technical infrastructure challenges. These incidents have been managed through infrastructure investments and improved monitoring systems to enhance platform reliability and uptime.
Integration Complexity: Some users have reported challenges related to integrating Slack with existing enterprise systems and workflows. The company has addressed these concerns through expanded API capabilities, improved integration documentation, and partnerships with enterprise software providers.
Pricing and Value Perception: Slack has faced feedback regarding pricing for enterprise plans and value proposition compared to free alternatives. The company has addressed these concerns through enhanced feature differentiation, improved value demonstration, and flexible pricing options for different organization sizes.
Workplace Technology Evolution: Slack has faced challenges related to evolving workplace technology needs and changing user expectations for collaboration tools. The company has adapted through continuous feature development, AI integration, and expanded platform capabilities to meet evolving workplace requirements.
Slack Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Integration with Salesforce's CRM and enterprise applications
- +Strong position in team collaboration with millions of daily active users
- +Extensive app ecosystem with thousands of third-party integrations
- +Powerful search and organization features for workplace communication
- +Enterprise-grade security and compliance features
Considerations
- -Intense competition from Microsoft Teams (included with Microsoft 365)
- -Subscription costs can be expensive for small businesses
- -Learning curve for teams transitioning from email or other tools
- -Integration complexity with existing enterprise systems
- -Challenges maintaining innovation speed under large corporate ownership
Frequently Asked Questions About Slack
Sources & Further Reading
- Slack Official Website -
- Salesforce Corporate Website -
- Slack Platform Documentation -
- Workplace Technology Association -- Industry standards and best practices
- Remote Work Research Institute -- Remote work and collaboration studies
- Digital Collaboration Standards -- Industry guidelines for workplace platforms
- Cloud Computing Association -- Cloud infrastructure and sustainability standards
- User Experience Professionals Association -- UX design and accessibility guidelines
- Data Privacy and Security Alliance -- Privacy and security best practices for collaboration platforms
Competitors to Slack
These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.
| Brand | Parent Company | Country | Founded | Market Position | Primary Market | Gender Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intsig Information | China | 2010 | Mass market | Global | All-ages | |
| The Omni Group | USA | 2006 | Premium | Global | All-ages | |
| Microsoft | USA | 1997 | Premium | Global | All-ages | |
| Atlassian | USA | 2011 | Mass market | Global | All-ages | |
| Bending Spoons | Netherlands | 2009 | Mass market | Global | All-ages | |
| Symphony Technology Group | USA | 2006 | Premium | Global | All-ages |
Learn More About Competitors
CamScanner
Owned by INTSIG Information Co., Ltd.
Mobile document scanning application that converts smartphone photos into PDF and JPEG documents with OCR capabilities.
OmniPlan
Owned by The Omni Group
Professional project management and planning software for macOS, iOS, and other Apple platforms with Gantt charts and resource management.
Outlook
Owned by Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft's personal information manager and email client application for individuals and businesses.
Trello
Owned by Atlassian
Web-based kanban-style project management application for organizing tasks and projects using visual boards and cards.
WeTransfer
Owned by Bending Spoons S.p.A.
Dutch file transfer service allowing users to share large files up to 2GB for free through a simple web-based interface.
Wrike
Owned by Symphony Technology Group
Cloud-based collaborative work management platform for managing projects, deadlines, schedules, and workflow processes.
Competitive Analysis
Market Positioning: Slack competes with 6 brands in the same categories, ranging from mass market to luxury positioning.
Geographic Distribution: Competitors are headquartered across multiple regions, indicating global competition in this market segment.
Brand Heritage: Competitor brands range from established heritage brands to newer market entrants, with founding years spanning several decades.
Salesforce Stock Information
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