❯ Workday buys C1.ai to manage which systems employees and AI agents can access

Final agreement signedWorkday announced on October 13 that it signed an agreement to buy C1.ai, without disclosing the price, and expects to close in Q4 of fiscal 2027 (ending January 31, 2027). BofA Securities advised Workday and Qatalyst advised C1.ai.

Who gets into which systemC1.ai, formerly ConductorOne, manages system access for employees and AI agents. It connects email, customer management, code repositories, finance systems and cloud services, granting access when needed, revoking it afterward and logging each step. It also offers tools to find unsanctioned AI use; customers include Ramp, Brex, Instacart and Zscaler.

A six-year-old betCEO Alex Bovee says he and co-founder Paul Querna bet six years ago that identity would become the key control point for companies, and AI proved them right. C1.ai’s research finds 95% of large US companies already run autonomous agents, while Deloitte says only 21% have a mature way to govern them.

HR changes update access automaticallyWorkday is an HR system used by more than 11,500 organizations, including over 65% of the Fortune 500, recording who joins, moves or leaves. After the deal, these changes can trigger access updates directly: old access revoked and new access granted on a role change, without IT working ticket by ticket.

Agents need onboarding tooWorkday already offers an Agent System of Record where companies register and view their AI agents. With C1.ai it will also control which systems those agents can use, managing agents as a kind of employee.

▮ SIGNALOnce agents join a company they have to be managed like employees, and HR software is extending from managing people to managing machines.