SAP announced early Friday that it will acquire SmartRecruiters, a talent acquisition software provider known for high-volume recruiting, recruitment automation and AI-driven candidate engagement.

The deal will fold SmartRecruiters’ platform into the SAP SuccessFactors suite, giving customers expanded hiring and workforce planning tools. SAP said the acquisition will support faster, data-driven hiring and a more seamless candidate experience.

AI is ‘very exciting’ for talent acquisition space

A roadmap for the technologies will be released after regulatory approvals are complete, according to Dan Beck, president and chief product officer of SAP SuccessFactors, who spoke during a news conference today. He indicated that more details will follow regarding how San Francisco-based SmartRecruiters will integrate with existing SuccessFactors recruiting tools and features.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The move will allow customers of both companies to “quickly take advantage of the moment” at a time when the potential of AI is “very exciting” for the talent acquisition space, SmartRecruiters CEO Rebecca Carr said during the news conference.

The acquisition is not expected to create “complexity” for stakeholders, Carr emphasized, and its intent is to help HR teams “deliver measurable outcomes” to their organizations.

Key details of SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters

• SmartRecruiters’ technology includes AI-enabled applicant tracking, recruitment analytics and user-friendly workflows designed to reduce time-to-hire.
• Integration with SAP SuccessFactors will provide a single system for sourcing, interviewing, onboarding and workforce planning.
• SmartRecruiters’ portfolio will remain available as a standalone offering for now.
• More than 4,000 organizations use SmartRecruiters’ SaaS platform, including Amazon, Visa and McDonald’s, according to a news release.

In a breaking news report, industry analyst Madeline Laurano, founder of Aptitude Research, wrote that “SAP didn’t just acquire an ATS. It acquired a platform already positioned for the next generation of hiring.”

She wrote that the HR tech market is primed for further consolidation, with platforms offering agentic capability—not just data tracking—emerging as top acquisition targets. She predicts that HCM providers will need to “build, buy or partner to stay competitive.”

Laurano said SmartRecruiters will not be a “plug-in to SuccessFactors,” calling this move “SAP’s bet on the future of talent technology—and that future is agentic.”

Analyst and researcher Stacey Harris of Sapient Insights suggested an additional angle for SAP in a post on LinkedIn about the deal.

“Our data shows a good percentage of cross-over clients, [and] that will make this a positive move for many organizations building out their HR tech platform clusters,” Harris wrote. “But there is also a big win in picking up AI talent that has grown rapidly in recruiting tech environments.”

Check back for updates.