Workday to acquire C1.ai to enhance AI agent governance

Workday has entered into a binding agreement to acquire C1.ai, formerly known as ConductorOne, a specialist in identity and access management. The announcement was made on October 13, 2026, during the Workday Rising conference in Las Vegas.

The acquisition aims to address growing control gaps in corporate IT by linking personnel events and enterprise agent directories with the automated granting and revocation of access rights. C1.ai’s platform manages digital permissions across various IT sectors, including email services, CRM platforms, code repositories, financial systems, and cloud environments. This technology will support both human employees and autonomous software systems.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027, which ends on January 31, 2027, subject to customary closing conditions. C1.ai was founded by former Okta managers and previously raised $111 million in investor funding.