Ex-Salesforce AI CEO Clara Shih Joins Meta to Lead New Business AI Division
Meta is making a serious play for the enterprise AI market by hiring Clara Shih, former CEO of Salesforce AI, to spearhead a new "Business AI" group. This strategic move signals Meta's determination to monetize its massive investment in Llama AI models and compete directly in the business software space.
Shih announced her new role as Vice President at Meta on LinkedIn, positioning the company's "global reach and leadership in AI" as a transformative opportunity for businesses. Her mission: make cutting-edge AI accessible to every business and help them "own their future in the AI era."
The Llama Monetization Strategy
Meta's business AI push builds on impressive existing metrics:
- 600 million downloads of Llama models to date
- 500 million monthly active users on Meta AI
- Strategic partnerships including recent government deals with the US national security sector
Despite marketing Llama as "open source," Meta maintains strict licensing controls. The Llama 3.2 license requires companies with over 700 million monthly users to request additional permissions, giving Meta veto power over competitors and potential revenue opportunities.
Clara Shih's Enterprise AI Expertise
Shih brings deep enterprise AI experience from her tenure at Salesforce, where she led the development of Agentforce autonomous bot platform. Her background includes founding Hearsay Systems and creating early Facebook-CRM integrations, making her uniquely qualified to bridge social media and business software.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. As businesses increasingly adopt AI tools, Meta is positioning itself to capture enterprise revenue streams that could help offset its billions in AI infrastructure investments.
Read the full article on CIO.com
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