Workday to Acquire C1.ai, a Leading Agentic Identity Platform for People and Agents

News Release Issued: Oct 13, 2026 (8:45am EDT)

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Workday to Acquire C1.ai, a Leading Agentic Identity Platform for People and
Agents

With C1.ai, Workday Can Give Every Person and AI Agent the Right Access from
the Day They Join to the Day They Leave, and Everywhere in Between
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Workday Rising 2026 - Workday,
Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), the trusted agentic platform for HR, finance, and IT,
today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire C1.ai, a
leading agentic identity platform for people and agents. C1.ai connects to the
systems a business runs on - from email and CRM to code repositories,
finance systems, and cloud infrastructure - giving each person and agent the
right access at the right time and removing it the moment it's no longer
needed.

Most organizations manage employee access across hundreds of applications
through manual service tickets, spreadsheets, and periodic reviews as workers
join, move, and leave. The rapid adoption of AI agents has accelerated this
challenge: C1.ai's research shows that 95% of large U.S. companies already
run autonomous agents, yet according to Deloitte's State of AI research, only
21% report having a mature way to govern them. Organizations need to know who
and what has access, why they have it, and when to remove it. Without those
controls, AI agents can become lawless, creating security and compliance risks
across the business.
Every new hire, job change, and exit is a Workday event. Workday already
governs the people, money, and agents at the heart of the enterprise. With
C1.ai, Workday will become the identity governance layer for people, money,
and agents. Every employee and agent using Workday can have the right access
to the apps, data, and systems they need, from the day they join to the day
they leave, and every move in between.
"Today's companies run on a combined workforce of people and AI agents," said
Gerrit Kazmaier, president, product and technology, Workday. "With C1.ai,
we'll help secure that workforce by managing and enforcing exactly who - and
what - has access to connected apps and systems, giving each person and
agent the right access at the right moment to make work easier, safer, and
more compliant."
"Enterprises can't secure the AI era using yesterday's IT tickets," said Alex
Bovee, CEO and co-founder, C1.ai. "Workday is the operational heart of the
enterprise, and by bringing C1.ai's identity governance directly into that
core, we'll be able to manage access for every human and agent in real time
- making work faster without making it less secure."
Managing Access for Every Worker and Agent in One Place
Imagine a new hire spending their first few days filing tickets just to get
access to Slack, Jira, and the finance dashboard - and then keeping that
access long after changing roles. Workday and C1.ai will bring these processes
together so that new hires get the right access when they start, employees
gain and lose access as their roles change, and departing workers are removed
promptly. This translates to less time waiting on system permissions for
employees, fewer manual approvals for managers, and fewer open doors for
attackers.
Complete Visibility and Control for Agents
Some agents act on behalf of an employee and should only reach part of what
that person can, while others work on their own with broader access that needs
close oversight. An agent that was retired last quarter shouldn't still be
able to get in, and most companies don't yet have a way to manage access at
that level of detail.
The Workday Agent System of Record already gives companies one place to see
and manage their agents. C1.ai will build on that, going beyond registering
agents to also governing what they can access across Workday and other
enterprise systems. Once registered, an agent can receive the access it needs,
when it needs it, and lose that access immediately when its work or role ends.
Transaction Details & Availability 
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday's fiscal
year 2027, ending January 31, 2027, subject to the satisfaction of customary
closing conditions. BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor to Workday
and Orrick is serving as its legal advisor. Qatalyst is serving as financial
advisor to C1.ai and Ashurst Perkins Coie is serving as its legal advisor.
About Workday 
Workday operates at the heart of the enterprise - HR, finance, and IT -
where the margin for error is effectively zero. By tightly coupling AI with
the context, guardrails, and trusted processes that run the business, Workday
goes beyond AI that assists with work to agents that are capable of driving
measurable outcomes. More than 11,500 organizations worldwide, including more
than 65% of the Fortune 500, trust Workday to deliver. For more information
about Workday, visit workday.com.
© 2026 Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the Workday logo are
trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
About C1.ai
C1.ai is the identity platform for the AI era. Our platform connects humans
and agents to enterprise systems with scoped access, enforced policies, human
approval, and a record of every action. With C1.ai, the fastest path to AI
adoption at scale is the governed path, giving organizations visibility and
control without sacrificing security or slowing innovation.
Forward-Looking Statements 
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other
things, statements regarding Workday's intent to acquire C1.ai, the expected
timing and closing of the acquisition, and the expected benefits and
capabilities of the combined solutions. These forward-looking statements are
based only on currently available information and our current beliefs,
expectations, and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to
the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, assumptions,
and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which
are outside of our control. If the risks materialize, assumptions prove
incorrect, or we experience unexpected changes in circumstances, actual
results could differ materially from the results implied by these
forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely on any
forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, the
satisfaction of closing conditions, regulatory approvals, our ability to
successfully integrate C1.ai's operations and technology, and other risks
described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),
including our most recent report on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K and other reports
that we have filed and will file with the SEC from time to time, which could
cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation
to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking
statements after the date of this release, except as required by law.
Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document,
our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not
currently available are subject to change at Workday's discretion and may not
be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday services
should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and
functions that are currently available.
 
SOURCE Workday Inc.

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