NICE Ltd.

What does NICE Ltd. own?
NICE Ltd. owns and operates a portfolio of enterprise software platforms centered on two business lines. The customer experience division includes the CXone Mpower cloud contact center platform, NiCE Cognigy (agentic AI), the Enlighten AI engine, and the CXone Expert knowledge management system. The financial crime and compliance division operates through the Actimize brand, providing anti-money laundering, fraud detection, and trading compliance software to financial institutions globally.

Is NICE Ltd. publicly traded?
Yes, NICE Ltd. is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol NICE. The company has been publicly traded since its NASDAQ listing in 1996.

Who founded NICE Ltd.?
NICE was founded in 1986 in Ra'anana, Israel, by a team of engineers that included Benny Levin, David Arzi, and Micky Golan. The founders originally named the company Neptune Intelligence Computer Engineering, a name that was formally replaced when the company was renamed NICE Systems Ltd. in October 1991.

Where is NICE Ltd. headquartered?
NICE Ltd. is legally headquartered in Ra'anana, Israel. The company also maintains significant U.S. operations from a 60,000 square foot office on the Hudson River waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey, which serves as its primary North American base. NICE has offices across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas.

What is the Cognigy acquisition?
In September 2025, NICE completed the acquisition of Cognigy, a German conversational and agentic AI company, for $955 million. Cognigy's platform enables enterprises to deploy AI agents that operate independently to deliver human-like customer service in over 100 languages. Cognigy serves brands including Mercedes-Benz, Nestle, Lufthansa Group, Bosch, DHL, and Toyota. The acquisition was financed with funds on hand and was expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow within 18 months.

What is NICE Ltd.'s revenue?
NICE Ltd. reported total revenue of $2.94 billion for fiscal year 2025. The company projects fiscal year 2026 revenue between $3.17 billion and $3.19 billion, representing 8% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. In Q2 2026, total revenue was $782.3 million, with cloud revenue of $609 million. AI ARR reached $362 million in Q2 2026, representing 15% of cloud revenue.

Who is the CEO of NICE Ltd.?
Scott Russell serves as CEO of NICE Ltd., having taken the role effective January 1, 2025. Russell previously spent over a decade at SAP, where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of SAP's cloud business. He succeeded Barak Eilam, who led NICE for a decade.

NICE was founded in 1986 in Ra'anana, Israel, under the name Neptune Intelligence Computer Engineering. The founding team included engineers Benny Levin, David Arzi, and Micky Golan. The company's initial work focused on contact center technology and business intelligence applications for the Israeli market.

In the early 1990s, NICE's engineers developed a telephony voice recording system that became a foundational product for the contact center industry. The company also established a subsidiary called NICECom to develop ATM software. NICECom grew rapidly, and in 1994, NICE sold the subsidiary to 3Com for $54 million, providing capital for the parent company's expansion into international markets. On October 14, 1991, the company was formally renamed NICE Systems Ltd., with the original acronym no longer in active use.

NICE went public on NASDAQ in 1996, establishing its presence in U.S. capital markets. The IPO gave the company access to funding for the acquisition-driven growth strategy that would define the following two decades.

In 2007, NICE made its most significant acquisition to that point, purchasing Actimize for $280 million. Actimize was a provider of risk management and financial crime compliance software, and its acquisition gave NICE a second major business line alongside its contact center operations. Actimize has since grown into a platform for anti-money laundering, fraud detection, and trading compliance used by major financial institutions worldwide.

In 2011, NICE acquired UK-based Fizzback for approximately $80 million and Merced Systems, a provider of performance management and workforce analytics software, for $150 million.

In 2014, CEO Zeevi Bregman departed and was replaced by Barak Eilam, who had previously served as the company's president. Eilam would lead NICE for a decade, overseeing its transformation from a primarily on-premise software vendor into a cloud-first enterprise platform company.

In 2015, NICE relocated its U.S. headquarters to a new 60,000 square foot office on the Hudson River waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey. That same year, the company sold its physical security business unit, NICE Security, to private equity firm Battery Ventures. The unit was subsequently rebranded as Qognify and later acquired by Hexagon AB in 2023.

On June 6, 2016, the company was formally renamed NICE Ltd. and completed its largest acquisition to that date, purchasing inContact, a cloud-based contact center software provider, for approximately $960 million. The inContact acquisition was transformational, giving NICE a fully cloud-native contact center platform and accelerating its shift away from on-premise deployments.

In 2018, NICE acquired Mattersight Corporation, a behavioral analytics software company, for approximately $90 million. In May 2019, NICE acquired Brand Embassy, a digital customer service platform. In April 2021, NICE announced the acquisition of MindTouch, a San Diego-based knowledge management company, subsequently rebranding the platform as CXone Expert.

In June 2024, NICE announced that CEO Barak Eilam would step down at the end of the year. Former SAP executive Scott Russell was named as his replacement, taking the CEO role effective January 1, 2025.

On July 28, 2025, NICE announced the acquisition of Cognigy, a German conversational and agentic AI company, for $955 million. The acquisition closed on September 8, 2025, after receiving all required regulatory approvals. Cognigy's flagship platform, Cognigy.AI, enables enterprises to deploy AI agents that operate independently to deliver human-like customer service in over 100 languages. Cognigy serves brands including Mercedes-Benz, Nestle, Lufthansa Group, Bosch, DHL, and Toyota. The acquisition was financed with funds on hand and was expected to be accretive to both non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow within 18 months. Cognigy's former CEO Philipp Heltewig joined NICE as General Manager of NiCE Cognigy and Chief AI Officer.

For fiscal year 2025, NICE reported total revenue of $2.94 billion, with cloud revenue growth of approximately 12% year over year. The company raised full-year 2025 non-GAAP EPS guidance to a range of $12.33 to $12.53, representing 12% year-over-year growth at the midpoint.

In Q1 2026, NICE reported total revenue of $768.6 million, up 9.8% year over year, with cloud revenue of $603.4 million, up 14.6%. AI ARR increased 66% year over year, and international revenue grew 30%. The company repurchased $253 million in shares during the quarter.

In Q2 2026, NICE reported total revenue of $782.3 million, up 7.6% year over year, with cloud revenue of $609 million, up 12.6%. AI ARR reached $362 million, representing 15% of cloud revenue. International revenue increased 22% year over year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 25.3%, and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.70. The company raised full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to a range of $11.06 to $11.26.

NICE has not faced major regulatory actions or public controversies of the scale that would warrant extended treatment. The company operates in regulated industries including financial services and government, which subjects its Actimize platform to ongoing scrutiny regarding data handling and compliance effectiveness. No significant regulatory fines or enforcement actions against NICE itself have been publicly reported as of mid-2026.

The company's workforce management and call recording products have historically operated in a legal environment that varies by jurisdiction, with some countries imposing restrictions on the recording of customer calls without explicit consent. NICE has navigated these requirements through product configuration options that allow customers to comply with local regulations.

The Cognigy acquisition in September 2025 required regulatory approvals in both Germany and the United States, which were received without reported complications. The acquisition was financed with funds on hand, avoiding the need for debt financing that could have drawn additional scrutiny.

As an Israeli company with significant U.S. operations, NICE operates within the geopolitical context of the Israel-Hamas conflict that began in October 2023. The company has not reported material disruptions to its operations, though the broader Israeli technology sector has faced challenges related to military reserve callups and regional instability.