Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 1.3% on Friday after the cloud software company announced it had been awarded a $1.6 billion contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help modernize healthcare and administrative services using artificial intelligence and cloud technology.
The three-year agreement further expands Salesforce’s long-standing relationship with the VA and strengthens its presence in the U.S. public sector.
Multi-year agreement supports digital transformation
The contract, awarded through Salesforce’s distribution network, is structured as an Agentic Enterprise License Agreement valued at $1.6 billion.
Under the deal, the VA will implement Salesforce’s Missionforce platform to improve service delivery for veterans while streamlining internal operations across the department.
The initiative is intended to simplify workflows, reduce administrative workloads and provide employees with more integrated access to data and digital tools.
AI to enhance patient support and care coordination
As part of the deployment, Salesforce will provide AI-powered technologies through its Agentforce Public Sector and Agentforce Health platforms.
These tools will support around-the-clock virtual contact centre services, patient triage and care coordination, helping the VA improve the efficiency of healthcare services.
The agency also plans to expand the use of Slack, which is already deployed across more than 150 VA medical centres and outpatient facilities, to improve collaboration between teams.
Technology to improve scheduling and data management
One of the project’s primary objectives is to significantly reduce appointment scheduling times.
The VA expects its Unified Patient Scheduling programme, which covers more than 40,000 healthcare provider services nationwide, to reduce average scheduling times from 28 days to just minutes once fully implemented.
Salesforce will also deploy MuleSoft and Data 360 to connect legacy systems through a unified data platform, while Tableau will provide analytics tools for areas including claims processing and workforce performance monitoring.
Long-standing partnership with the VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs serves more than 17 million veterans and their families through a network of 170 medical centres and more than 1,100 outpatient clinics.
During 2025, the department delivered more than 82 million direct-care appointments.
Salesforce has supported several VA programmes over the past decade, including the Veterans Crisis Line, the VA Health Connect contact centre and the SQUARES eligibility system.
The latest contract further expands that partnership while reinforcing Salesforce’s position as a key provider of AI-driven digital transformation solutions for government agencies.
Salesforce stock price
