The goal of the Salesforce Incubator is to bring the most promising, customer-focused and innovative startups together to create amazing technologies. Along with a great location in SoMa and access to Salesforce technologies, the Incubator gives startups access to a diverse network of mentors and advisors at Salesforce, exposure to industry events and experts, and an opportunity to give back in the early days of their existence. The first group of startups, which includes 14 SaaS companies from across North America, began their five-month program in September.

Today, I’m excited to announce that we’re now accepting applications for our next group of startups to join the Incubator -- this time focusing on companies interested in bringing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to their business apps to make them smarter. Salesforce will provide mentorship and access to Salesforce Einstein, a breakthrough innovation that embeds advanced AI capabilities into the Salesforce Platform. Einstein can be leveraged by developers and startups to create amazing new solutions that transform how companies connect with their customers.

With AI moving into the mainstream thanks to increased compute power of the cloud, the availability of “big data” and advancements in machine learning, every company has the potential to be smarter, more personalized and predictive when working with customers. By leveraging the latest AI capabilities, companies will be able to automate tasks, personalize experiences and improve decision-making for sales, customer support, marketing and many other business processes. In a sense, AI technology has the capability to completely change the way we do business.

If your startup is looking to bring AI capabilities into your solution, we encourage you to apply. Be a part of the first group of startups to leverage Einstein and make your app smarter. Join us in our mission to help nurture the next generation of Salesforce ecosystem companies.

The application process closes on Dec. 15, 2016 and we’ll announce the finalists at the end of January 2017. The program will commence May 1, 2017, and run through the end of September. Click here to apply, and click here for more info about the Salesforce Incubator. Questions? Reach out to us at startups@salesforce.com.