Workday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire c1.ai, a move aimed at extending its reach from HR, finance and IT into identity governance for both people and AI agents.
The company said the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday’s fiscal 2027, which ends Jan. 31, 2027.
Workday framed the acquisition around the growing use of autonomous agents in large enterprises. It cited c1.ai research showing that 95% of large U.S. companies already run autonomous agents, while Deloitte’s State of AI research found only 21% have a mature way to govern them.
Workday said c1.ai connects to systems including email, CRM, code repositories, finance systems and cloud infrastructure, with the goal of granting access when it is needed and removing it when it is not. The company said the combined platform would manage access across the employee lifecycle, from the day a worker joins through job changes and departure.
The deal also builds on Workday’s existing agent system of record, which it said already gives companies one place to see and manage their agents. With c1.ai, Workday said it will be able to govern what those agents can access across Workday and other enterprise systems.
Workday said more than 11,500 organizations worldwide use its platform, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 0.89%, and are now trading at a price of $188.25. For the full picture, make sure to review Workday's 8-K report.
