Other than directly cancelling a competing product, it's usually to acquire the staff. Bit like the football transfer market, but you can buy Marcus Rashford separately without having to buy the whole of Man U.

Yea, until they leave as soon as they can because working at Salesforce is nothing like a startup

These acquihires seem so ineffective to me unless the acquiring company is truly attractive to the acquirees talent.

That's what the vesting period is for, to ensure the team sticks around for long enough that the acquirer can figure out who is most valuable and make it attractive for them to stay.

optimist's view: if you have faith in SF longer term it's a great time to get your options priced!

I've definitely heard stories of people who wanted to sell their stock after being acquired, couldn't because of vesting/lockup, and were glad because it went up a lot in the meantime.

> buy Marcus Rashford

that would strengthen Man Utd :D

Man Utd mentioned.

It's just an acquihire. On the startup's side, the company has failed and they would be shutting it down regardless; this way they've found jobs for their employees and saved face. On the acquirer's side, they've recruited a team that they think is worth hiring with a lower cost of sourcing them.

The acquirer usually isn't paying that much in a case like this. Unlike what some other comments in this thread say (I assume from people new to the industry), nobody's getting rich.