Listen Labs, the San Francisco-based AI-first customer research platform for brands, is being acquired by Salesforce. The company was founded by Swedish serial entrepreneur Alfred Wahlforss and German co-founder Florian Juengermann. Financial details haven’t been disclosed, but Business Insider reported a few weeks ago that talks with the CRM giant were ongoing, citing a possible deal value of $2 billion.
The Deal
Following that report, TechCrunch learned from sources that Salesforce’s interest prompted Listen Labs to walk away from a signed term sheet for a $125 million Series C funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation, which Menlo Ventures was reportedly set to lead.
Wahlforss announced on LinkedIn that Listen Labs is joining Salesforce in January.
The Funding History
Listen Labs has raised around $100 million in funding to date. Sequoia Capital led a combined $27 million seed and Series A round in 2025, followed by a $69 million Series B round led by Ribbit Capital in early 2026.
The Founders
Listen Labs’ two European founders met during their studies at Harvard University. In 2023, they moved into a San Francisco Hacker House and launched Merlin, an AI form that asks questions. That experimental tool eventually evolved into Listen Labs, which officially went live in April last year.
Beyond Listen Labs, Wahlforss also runs Velocity, an annual non-profit program that brings entrepreneurial-minded young people from Sweden to Silicon Valley.
He is also the younger brother of Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, a seasoned serial entrepreneur best known for co-founding SoundCloud and Dance (recently acquired), and now building Nell from San Francisco. According to a LinkedIn post, it was apparently Alfred who convinced Eric to move to the City by the Bay.
