Shares in human resources software provider Workday (WDAY) were lower today despite sealing a $1.1 billion deal to beef up its AI offerings.
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Workday is buying artificial intelligence firm Sana, which is focused on delivering AI-powered workplace tools for companies and their employees.
Automate Tasks
Workday said the acquisition will help it offer AI agents that customers can use to automate repetitive tasks, search across a company’s data sources and create presentations and documents.
“This will make Workday the new front door for work, delivering a proactive, personalized, and intelligent experience that unlocks unmatched AI capabilities for the workplace,” said Gerrit Kazmaier, Workday’s president of product and technology.
Workday also said the Sana acquisition would deepen its educational offerings, allowing companies to quickly create courses and offer personalized tutoring through AI tools, supporting employee skill-building.
Time Savings
Workday said existing customers were already ‘realizing significant tangible value from Sana Agents across various use cases.’ As an example, it said that a leading American manufacturer achieved up to 95% time savings; a multinational industrial tech company achieved 90% productivity gains; and a global law firm saw over 60% time savings and 200% increased efficiency.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday’s fiscal year 2026.
This is the latest big deal in the HR software sector as companies adapt to the AI age and try not to get left behind by new rivals. Last month private equity firm Thoma Bravo agreed to buy Workday rival Dayforce for $12.3 billion.
Workday will hope the deal provides a positive signal to investors that it is evolving to meet stronger AI demand. Those concerns have weighed on the company’s share price this year – see below:
Workday also announced today a collaboration with U.S. tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) to help organizations securely manage AI agents across their platforms. It also said it was releasing Workday Build, a developer platform where customers can create AI tools directly through Workday.
Is WDAY a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, WDAY has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 20 Buy, 7 Hold and 1 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $340. WDAY stock’s consensus price target is $279.36, implying a 26.58% upside.
