Sana acquired by Workday for $1.1 billion

Sana, the Stockholm-based company offering AI-powered knowledge tools for the enterprise, is being acquired by publicly listed US-based enterprise software company Workday, for around $1.1B.

Sana, founded in 2016, had raised around $130M in total funding, of which $55M were injected a year ago, at a reported valuation of around $500M. For 2024, the company reported close to SEK 100 million in net revenue.

According to data registered with Bolagsverket (sourced via Eivora), Sana founder and CEO Joel Hellermark held close to 22% of the Sana equity before the transaction, followed by EQT Ventures (14%), NEA (10%), and Menlo Ventures (9%). Also on the cap table are Biovestor, Neudi Ventures, Max Ventures, Leksell Social Ventures – among many others.

In a brief interview with Di Digital, Joel Hellermark insists that Sana will remain as its own brand, with him as CEO and with the headquarters in Stockholm. The plan to continue hiring up to 800 people before the end of 2026 – from today's approximately 300 – remains, he says.

Mattias Miksche, one of Sweden's most active angel investors (according to my Leaderboard), backed Sana from the start. In an open letter, he thanked Joel Hellermark for what the young entrepreneur has built.