Qualtrics

What does Qualtrics own?
Qualtrics owns its XM platform covering customer experience, employee experience, and market research products, plus Press Ganey Forsta, the healthcare experience measurement business it acquired for $6.75 billion in May 2026.

Is Qualtrics publicly traded?
No. Qualtrics traded on NASDAQ as XM from January 2021 to June 2023, when Silver Lake and CPP Investments took it private for $12.5 billion. It has no current ticker.

Who founded Qualtrics?
Scott Smith, Ryan Smith, Jared Smith, and Stuart Orgill founded Qualtrics in 2002 in Provo, Utah. The Smith family self-funded the business for a decade before taking venture capital in 2012.

Where is Qualtrics headquartered?
Qualtrics maintains dual headquarters in Provo, Utah, where it was founded, and Seattle, Washington, where it built its enterprise sales and engineering hub.

How many brands does Qualtrics own?
Qualtrics operates under one platform brand with product suites for customer, employee, market, and patient experience. Press Ganey is its largest named acquisition and operates as its healthcare unit.

Who owns Qualtrics?
Private equity firm Silver Lake is the controlling owner, with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as co-investor. Founder Ryan Smith retains a stake and serves as executive chairman.

Qualtrics began in 2002 in Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University marketing professor Scott Smith and his son Ryan built a research survey tool, initially for academic use, joined by Ryan's brother Jared and Stuart Orgill. The Smiths self-funded the business for a decade, declining venture capital while growing to millions in revenue from university and corporate research customers.

The company finally raised outside money in 2012, a $70 million Series A from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital, then among the largest first rounds in software history. Rounds of $150 million in 2014 and $180 million in 2017 followed as Qualtrics expanded from surveys into what it branded experience management, adding employee engagement, brand tracking, and product research products.

SAP announced a surprise $8 billion acquisition in November 2018, days before Qualtrics' planned IPO. Two years later, under new SAP CEO Christian Klein, the company reversed course: Qualtrics was spun out in a January 2021 IPO on NASDAQ under the ticker XM, with SAP retaining majority ownership.

Private equity returned in 2023. Silver Lake and CPP Investments agreed to take Qualtrics private in a $12.5 billion all-cash deal completed in June 2023, buying out SAP and public shareholders at $18.15 per share. The deal removed public disclosure requirements and set up an aggressive acquisition program: Press Ganey Forsta, held by Ares Management and Leonard Green, was acquired for $6.75 billion in a transaction announced October 2025 and closed May 2026.

The new scale brought restructuring. The company cut roughly 14 percent of staff in 2023 under PE ownership and announced further reductions in August 2026 as it integrated Press Ganey and eliminated overlapping roles, including 117 positions tied to its Seattle headquarters.

Qualtrics' 2023 take-private drew litigation and criticism from shareholders who argued the $18.15 per share price undervalued the company, though the deal closed as agreed. Under private ownership the company has cut several hundred jobs across multiple rounds, drawing local coverage in Utah and Seattle.

No major regulatory penalties apply to the company. As a processor of sensitive patient and employee data it operates under HIPAA-adjacent and global privacy obligations, and it has not disclosed a material data breach of public record.