Who Owns Workday?
Workday is the flagship software brand of Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a publicly traded enterprise software company headquartered in Pleasanton, California. Launched in 2006, the brand covers the unified cloud suite for human capital management, payroll, financial management, and analytics used by more than 11,500 organizations. The parent generates $9.55 billion in annual revenue.
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Who Owns Workday?
- Parent Company: Workday, Inc.
- Ownership Type: Brand division
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: Nasdaq: WDAY
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Workday | Workday, Inc. | Brand division |
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History of Workday
- Founded: 2005
- Founders: Dave Duffield, Aneel Bhusri
The brand launched in 2006 with Workday Human Capital Management, a cloud-native HR suite built by the founders of PeopleSoft after Oracle absorbed that company. Early enterprise adopters proved large organizations would trust hosted HR systems, and the brand expanded into financial management.
The 2012 IPO turned Workday into a flagship name of the SaaS era. Workday Financial Management matured into a genuine Oracle and SAP challenger, while acquisitions added planning, procurement, engagement, and vendor management modules under the umbrella brand.
From 2024 the brand's center of gravity shifted toward AI. The Workday Illuminate platform and role-based agents, plus acquired products like Sana, Paradox, and HiredScore, repositioned Workday as an AI-native HR and finance platform rather than a passive system of record.
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About Workday, Inc.
Is Workday publicly traded?
Yes. It trades on Nasdaq under ticker WDAY and is in the S&P 500.
Who founded Workday?
Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri in 2005, after Oracle's takeover of PeopleSoft.
Who is the CEO of Workday?
Aneel Bhusri, who returned to the role in February 2026 after Carl Eschenbach's tenure.
What does Workday sell?
Cloud software for human capital management, financial management, and planning, plus AI agents across those domains.
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What companies has Workday acquired recently?
HiredScore and Evisort in 2024, and Flowise, Paradox, Sana, and Pipedream during fiscal 2026.
Is Workday part of Oracle?
No. Workday was founded specifically because Oracle acquired PeopleSoft; it remains an independent competitor to Oracle.
- Founded: 2005
- Headquarters: Pleasanton, California, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: Nasdaq: WDAY
- Revenue: $9.55 billion total revenue, $8.83 billion subscription (FY2026, ended January 31, 2026)
- Employees: Approximately 20,500
Where Is Workday Made / Based?
- Headquarters: Pleasanton, California, USA
Workday Categories & Tags
Workday Recalls & Controversies
AI screening lawsuit: The Mobley v. Workday litigation alleges the brand's screening tools discriminated against applicants. The case reached collective action status and is a landmark test of vendor liability for AI hiring tools.
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Brands Owned by Workday, Inc.
Technology SoftwareEvisort
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Contract intelligence and document AI platform founded in 2016, acquired by Workday in 2024 to extend AI into procurement and legal workflows.
aicontract-managementdocument-ai
Technology SoftwareHiredScore
Owned by Workday, Inc.
AI recruiting and talent orchestration platform founded in 2013, acquired by Workday in 2024 to power agentic recruiting across its customer base.
airecruitinghr-software
Technology SoftwareParadox
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Conversational AI recruiting platform founded in 2016 in Scottsdale, acquired by Workday in fiscal 2026 to automate the candidate hiring journey.
airecruitingconversational-ai
Technology SoftwarePeakon
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Copenhagen-founded employee engagement and listening platform, acquired by Workday in 2021 and sold as Workday Peakon Employee Voice.
employee-engagementhr-softwaresurveys
Technology SoftwareSana
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Stockholm-founded AI knowledge and learning platform acquired by Workday in 2025 for about $1.1 billion, now the Workday Sana AI experience layer.
ailearningknowledge-management
Technology SoftwareVNDLY
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Cincinnati-founded vendor management system for contingent workforce, acquired by Workday in 2021 and integrated into its extended workforce platform.
vendor-managementcontingent-workforceprocurement
Workday Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Unified architecture competitors built through acquisition cannot match
- +Deep embedding in customer HR and finance processes
- +Founder-led AI strategy with newly acquired agent portfolio
Considerations
- -Premium per-employee pricing under pressure in AI era
- -Implementation complexity drives customer reliance on partners
- -Sector-wide SaaS valuation pressure persisted through 2025
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Frequently Asked Questions About Workday
Sources & Further Reading
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Competitors to Workday
These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.
| Brand | Parent Company | Country | Founded | Market Position | Primary Market | Gender Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adp | USA | 1949 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Oracle | USA | 1998 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Oracle | USA | 1977 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Workday | USA | 2013 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Workday | Denmark | 2014 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Workday | USA | 2017 | Mass market | Global | All Genders |
Learn More About Competitors
Technology SoftwareADP
Owned by Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
World's leading payroll and human capital management brand, paying roughly one in six U.S. workers for more than 1.1 million clients through its RUN, Workforce Now, and TotalSource platforms.
payrollhcmhr-software
Technology SoftwareNetSuite
Owned by Oracle Corporation
Cloud ERP suite for mid-market and enterprise customers, owned by Oracle since a $9.3 billion acquisition in 2016, serving more than 40,000 customers.
erpcloudsaas
Technology SoftwareOracle
Owned by Oracle Corporation
Corporate brand of Oracle Corporation, the Austin-based enterprise software and cloud infrastructure company founded in 1977, with FY2026 revenue of $67.4 billion.
enterprise-softwareclouddatabase
Technology SoftwareHiredScore
Owned by Workday, Inc.
AI recruiting and talent orchestration platform founded in 2013, acquired by Workday in 2024 to power agentic recruiting across its customer base.
airecruitinghr-software
Technology SoftwarePeakon
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Copenhagen-founded employee engagement and listening platform, acquired by Workday in 2021 and sold as Workday Peakon Employee Voice.
employee-engagementhr-softwaresurveys
Technology SoftwareVNDLY
Owned by Workday, Inc.
Cincinnati-founded vendor management system for contingent workforce, acquired by Workday in 2021 and integrated into its extended workforce platform.
vendor-managementcontingent-workforceprocurement
Competitive Analysis
Market Positioning: Workday competes with 6 brands in the same categories, ranging from mass market to luxury positioning.
Geographic Distribution: Competitors are headquartered across multiple regions, indicating global competition in this market segment.
Brand Heritage: Competitor brands range from established heritage brands to newer market entrants, with founding years spanning several decades.
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Independent Alternatives to Workday
Looking for brands with different ownership structures? These similar brands are not owned by Workday, Inc., giving you alternative choices that support different corporate structures.
Technology SoftwareADP
Owned by Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
World's leading payroll and human capital management brand, paying roughly one in six U.S. workers for more than 1.1 million clients through its RUN, Workforce Now, and TotalSource platforms.
payrollhcmhr-software
Publicly Traded
ADP operates independently without a large parent corporation.
Technology SoftwareCalendly
Owned by Calendly, Inc.
Scheduling automation software platform that eliminates back-and-forth emails when booking meetings.
schedulingcalendarproductivity
Privately Owned
Calendly is privately owned, unlike Workday which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwareOdoo
Owned by Odoo S.A.
Belgian open-source business software suite offering integrated ERP, CRM, accounting, and e-commerce apps, valued near 10 billion euros in 2026.
erpopen-sourcebusiness-software
Privately Owned
Odoo is privately owned, unlike Workday which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwarePersona
Owned by Persona Identities, Inc.
Identity verification platform used by companies like OpenAI, LinkedIn, and Reddit to verify users and fight fraud. Founded in 2018 in San Francisco, valued at $2 billion in 2025.
identity-verificationkycfraud-prevention
Privately Owned
Persona is privately owned, unlike Workday which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwareRestream
Owned by Restream, Inc.
Live streaming platform that lets creators and businesses broadcast to multiple social platforms at once, owned by private company Restream, Inc.
live-streamingmultistreamingvideo-software
Privately Owned
Restream is privately owned, unlike Workday which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwareWrike
Owned by Symphony Technology Group
Cloud-based collaborative work management platform for managing projects, deadlines, schedules, and workflow processes. Owned by Symphony Technology Group.
project-managementcollaborationworkflow-management
Privately Owned
Wrike is privately owned, unlike Workday which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Workday, Inc. Stock Information
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Jobs at Workday, Inc.
Latest News About Workday
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