Twilio to Buy Customer Data Startup Segment for $3.2 Billion

Twilio Inc. is buying customer data company Segment Inc. for about $3.2 billion in stock, after a boom in demand for online communications tools.

Cloud-computing company Twilio has benefited during the pandemic as customers, such as retailers and health care providers, have increasingly relied on online software to sell and communicate to customers. San Francisco startup Segment helps companies manage the streams of data they collect about their customers from various platforms. It was valued at $1.5 billion in its last private funding round, with investors including Thrive Capital, Accel, Alphabet Inc.’s GV.