Slack is owned by Salesforce. The massive acquisition was finalized on July 21, 2021, marking one of the most significant transactions in the history of the software industry. Salesforce, a global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, purchased Slack Technologies, Inc. for approximately $27.7 billion in a combination of cash and stock. This transition ended Slack's tenure as an independent, publicly-traded company and integrated it into the broader Salesforce "Customer 360" ecosystem.

The Definitive Answer to Slack’s Ownership

Since mid-2021, Slack has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM). If you look at the corporate hierarchy, Slack is no longer a standalone entity reporting to its own board of directors; instead, it functions as a strategic business unit within Salesforce’s Integration and Analytics division. While the "Slack" brand remains prominent and the product continues to be developed as a distinct platform, all major strategic decisions, funding, and long-term roadmaps are determined by Salesforce leadership.

Before this acquisition, Slack was an independent company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "WORK." It had a successful direct listing in 2019, but the intensifying competition in the workplace collaboration market—specifically from Microsoft Teams—eventually led the company to seek the scale and stability of a larger enterprise partner.

Breaking Down the 27.7 Billion Dollar Acquisition

The deal between Salesforce and Slack was not just a simple purchase; it was a complex financial merger designed to reshape how enterprises work. When the agreement was announced on December 1, 2020, it sent shockwaves through the tech world.

The Financial Terms of the Deal

Under the terms of the agreement, Slack shareholders received $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each share of Slack they owned. At the time of the announcement, this valued the company at nearly $28 billion. By the time the deal closed in July 2021, the final valuation stabilized around $27.7 billion.

This valuation represented a significant premium over Slack’s market cap prior to the acquisition rumors. It demonstrated Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s conviction that Slack was the "central nervous system" for the new era of remote and hybrid work accelerated by the global pandemic.

The Closing Timeline

  • December 1, 2020: The definitive agreement for Salesforce to acquire Slack is announced.
  • June 2021: The Department of Justice (DOJ) completes its antitrust review, clearing the way for the merger.
  • July 21, 2021: Salesforce officially completes the acquisition. Slack is delisted from the NYSE.

The Evolution of Slack Ownership: From Glitch to Global Giant

To understand who owns Slack today, it is essential to look at how it began. Slack’s journey is one of the most famous "pivots" in Silicon Valley history.

The Tiny Speck Era (2009–2013)

Slack wasn't originally intended to be a communication tool. It started within a company called Tiny Speck, founded by Stewart Butterfield (who also co-founded Flickr), Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov. The team was actually building a web-based massive multiplayer online game called Glitch.

While Glitch failed to gain commercial traction and was eventually shut down in 2012, the internal tool the developers built to communicate with each other was incredibly effective. Realizing that the tool was more valuable than the game, Butterfield and his team shifted their entire focus. They renamed the company Slack Technologies and launched the platform to the public in August 2013.

Venture Capital and Rapid Growth

Before going public, Slack was owned by a group of high-profile venture capital firms and private investors. Some of the early stakeholders who profited immensely from the Salesforce acquisition included:

  • Accel: An early lead investor that held a significant minority stake.
  • Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Another major venture backer.
  • Social Capital: Led by Chamath Palihapitiya.
  • SoftBank Vision Fund: Contributed to later funding rounds.

By 2019, Slack had raised over $1.2 billion in funding and was valued at $7.1 billion in the private markets before its direct listing.

Who is the CEO of Slack Now?

The leadership of Slack has undergone significant changes since the Salesforce acquisition. While the original founders stayed on for a transitional period, the company is now led by Salesforce veterans.

The Departure of Stewart Butterfield

Stewart Butterfield, the visionary co-founder and face of Slack, served as CEO through the acquisition and the first year of integration. However, in late 2022, Butterfield announced his departure from the company. His exit marked the end of the "founder era" for Slack, as the platform became more deeply embedded in the Salesforce corporate structure.

Current Leadership: Denise Dresser

As of 2024 and 2025, Denise Dresser serves as the CEO of Slack. Dresser is a longtime Salesforce executive with over a decade of experience within the parent company. Before taking the helm at Slack, she served as President of Accelerated Industries at Salesforce.

Her appointment signals Salesforce’s intent to align Slack more closely with its core CRM business. Unlike the early days of Slack, which focused on "fun" and "organic" growth, the current leadership is focused on enterprise-grade integration, AI capabilities, and driving revenue through Salesforce’s massive sales machine.

Why Did Salesforce Buy Slack?

The question of "who owns Slack" is often followed by "why did they buy it?" For Salesforce, owning Slack was a defensive and offensive move in the "Cloud Wars."

Competing with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams was launched as a direct competitor to Slack, and because it was bundled for free with Microsoft 365, it saw explosive growth. Salesforce, despite being the leader in CRM, lacked a native "collaboration layer." By owning Slack, Salesforce could offer a unified platform that competes directly with the Microsoft ecosystem.

The "Digital HQ" Vision

Marc Benioff marketed the acquisition as the creation of the "Digital HQ." The idea was that in a world where physical offices were becoming less central, Slack would be the place where employees, customers, and partners interact, while Salesforce would be the database of record behind those interactions.

Synergy with Salesforce Products

By owning the platform, Salesforce has been able to build deep integrations that were previously impossible:

  • Salesforce Einstein: Integrating AI across Slack to summarize meetings and predict sales outcomes.
  • Slack Sales Elevate: A purpose-built product that allows sales reps to update their Salesforce CRM data directly from the Slack interface.
  • Tableau & MuleSoft: Integrating data visualization and API management directly into Slack channels.

Who Indirectly Owns Slack Through Salesforce?

Because Slack is a wholly-owned subsidiary, its "owners" are effectively the shareholders of Salesforce, Inc. If you own Salesforce stock, you own a piece of Slack.

The ownership of Salesforce is dominated by large institutional investors. As of the latest filings in 2025, the primary stakeholders include:

  1. The Vanguard Group: Typically the largest shareholder, holding approximately 8-9% of Salesforce stock.
  2. BlackRock, Inc.: The second-largest institutional holder, with roughly 7-8% ownership.
  3. State Street Corporation: A major institutional player with a significant stake.
  4. Marc Benioff: While his percentage of total shares has diluted over the years as the company grew, the co-founder and CEO remains one of the largest individual shareholders and exerts significant control over the company's direction.

This institutional ownership means that Slack’s ultimate governance is tied to the performance expectations of Wall Street’s biggest asset managers.

How Ownership Has Changed the Slack Experience

From a user perspective, the change in ownership from an independent startup to a Salesforce subsidiary has had both subtle and major impacts. In our testing of the platform post-acquisition, several trends have emerged.

Increased Enterprise Focus

The "indie" feel of Slack has slowly faded. While the emojis and "huddles" remain, the product is now much more focused on security, compliance, and large-scale enterprise features. For small startups, the free tier has become more restrictive (such as the 90-day message history limit), reflecting Salesforce’s drive for monetization.

The AI Transformation

Under Salesforce’s ownership, Slack has pivoted hard toward Artificial Intelligence. The launch of "Slack AI" allows users to summarize long threads, get daily recaps, and search for information across their organization using natural language. This reflects Salesforce’s broader "AI + Data + CRM" strategy.

Integration Friction vs. Value

For teams that already use Salesforce for their sales or service operations, the ownership change has been a massive win. The ability to receive real-time alerts from Salesforce into a Slack channel is seamless. However, for users who do not use Salesforce, there is a lingering concern that the platform might become too bloated with features designed for CRM users.

Common Misconceptions About Slack Ownership

There are several persistent myths regarding who owns Slack that need to be cleared up:

  • Is Slack owned by Microsoft? No. Microsoft owns Teams, which is Slack's primary competitor. Microsoft reportedly considered buying Slack for $8 billion in 2016 but ultimately decided to build Teams instead.
  • Is Slack owned by Google? No. Google has its own communication tools (Google Chat) within the Google Workspace suite. While Google was often rumored to be an interested buyer, it never acquired Slack.
  • Is Slack a Chinese company? No. Slack was founded in the United States and Canada and is currently owned by Salesforce, an American company headquartered in San Francisco.
  • Is Slack owned by Apple? No. Apple does not have a dedicated enterprise communication platform like Slack.

The Future of Slack Under Salesforce

Looking ahead to late 2025 and 2026, Slack’s role within Salesforce will likely become even more integrated. We expect to see Slack become the primary interface for all Salesforce applications. Instead of logging into a complex CRM dashboard, users will increasingly "talk" to their data through Slack.

The ownership by Salesforce has provided Slack with the financial "war chest" needed to survive and thrive against Microsoft. While some purists miss the days when Slack was a scrappy startup, the reality is that its current ownership has turned it into a permanent fixture of the global enterprise infrastructure.

Summary

In short, Salesforce owns Slack. The $27.7 billion acquisition in 2021 transformed Slack from a successful independent messaging app into a core component of the world's largest CRM ecosystem. Today, it is led by CEO Denise Dresser and is focused on integrating AI and CRM data to define the "future of work." While the founders have moved on, the platform continues to dominate the conversation around digital collaboration, backed by the massive resources of Salesforce and its institutional shareholders like Vanguard and BlackRock.

FAQ

When did Salesforce buy Slack?

Salesforce officially completed the acquisition of Slack on July 21, 2021. The deal was first announced in December 2020.

How much did Salesforce pay for Slack?

The final transaction value was approximately $27.7 billion, paid through a combination of cash and Salesforce stock.

Who was the original owner of Slack?

Slack was originally developed by Slack Technologies, Inc., which grew out of a company called Tiny Speck founded by Stewart Butterfield and his co-founders.

Is Slack still a public company?

No. Slack was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 21, 2021. Its financial performance is now reported as part of Salesforce’s quarterly earnings.

Can I buy Slack stock?

You cannot buy stock in Slack directly. However, you can buy stock in its parent company, Salesforce, under the ticker symbol CRM.

Who is the current CEO of Slack?

As of 2024/2025, the CEO of Slack is Denise Dresser, who took over following the departures of Stewart Butterfield and Lidiane Jones.