It’s HR Tech week, and in 2025, that means plenty of new announcements, launches, investments and partnerships.
Workday has a slate of news coming out during its Workday Rising user conference this week. The HCM giant announced its plan to acquire AI company Sana, launched Workday Data Cloud for real-time analytics insights, introduced new Illuminate agents for complex HR and finance workflows and debuted Workday Build, a developer platform for creating custom AI-powered solutions with enterprise-grade security.
Whew. That’s a lot to unpack, but the one that has folks at HR Tech talking is Workday’s Sana grab. Sana is expected to enable a unified Workday experience, becoming the primary entry point for workplace activities. Josh Bersin, who will close HR Tech with his Thursday afternoon keynote, wrote in a blog post: “It’s an exciting move, and it changes Workday as a company.”
Why is that? Bersin says that historically, Workday has been known as a “system that isn’t easy to use.” While he says Workday is no doubt rich on features, proprietary and secure, its architecture dates to 2006. “Rather than wait for competitors to build agents which replace parts of Workday,” he wrote, “the company intends to use Sana as a ‘front door’ to access Workday and virtually any other corporate system.”
Bersin’s analysis drives home a couple of other points. “In some ways, Workday has no choice,” he writes. “Without this kind of approach, Workday becomes a ‘service’ behind other vendors’ agents.” The acquisition shifts Workday’s positioning from a traditional “back-office” ERP system to the primary interface where employees will access and complete their work.
“And in the meantime, Workday customers get one of the most exciting learning platforms in the market,” according to Bersin.
More HR Tech in the news
HCM solutions provider isolved announced two AI-powered updates: first, that is now one of two firms integrating with Indeed’s Talent Scout solution to enable candidate matching and automated recruiting insights. Second, it launched a tool called Benefits Guidance, designed for personalized AI-driven benefit recommendations.
Hiring platform Greenhouse announced Fall 2025 releases featuring new analytics, fraud detection and smarter scheduling to help recruiters find top talent faster in today’s overwhelming recruitment environment.
Oracle announced new AI agents embedded in Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM to automate recruiting, career development, core HR and payroll tasks. Oracle was also recognized as a leader in Gartner’s 2025 Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for the 10th consecutive year.
Skillsoft announced its next-generation Percipio Platform, an AI-native skills intelligence platform for what the firm calls “the human + AI era.” The all-in-one solution is designed to manage workforce capability, close skill gaps and connect development to business outcomes.
Darwinbox, an AI-native cloud HCM platform, launched Super Agent, an “AI teammate” providing employees with one interface across enterprise systems, including HR, IT and finance for streamlined workflows and efficiency.
Staffbase employee experience platform announced Employee AI, which features three pillars: a trusted data/context layer, governance/security controls and employee reach. It is designed to accelerate work, enable impactful initiatives, reduce frustration and boost productivity.
Vensure Employer Solutions, an HR/HCM technology and managed services provider, announced new features that include global payroll across 50+ countries, AI-enhanced applicant tracking, advanced workforce management with integrated scheduling and AI-powered performance management tools.
Kinaxis, an AI supply chain orchestration leader, partnered with Workday to unify operational, finance and people data. The solution uses AI-enabled frameworks across Kinaxis Maestro and Workday Adaptive Planning to assist cross-functional decisions.
Online learning platform Coursera launched Skill Tracks, a data-driven learning solution mapping specific job roles to proficiency paths. Powered by Career Graph technology, which analyzes millions of labor market data points, it aims to help organizations close skill gaps efficiently.
Workplace platform Envoy announced the expansion of its device ecosystem with devices from Neat, a conferencing and collaboration hardware provider. The integration enables guest check-ins and meeting room reservations for improved hybrid workplace experiences.
Checkr, a data platform for hiring decisions, released The Hiring Hoax report, revealing widespread AI-fueled hiring fraud. Key findings: 59% suspect AI candidate misrepresentation, 35% encountered interview impostors, and 23% lost over $50,000 to hiring fraud annually.
Talent acquisition software company iCIMS released its State of Frontline Hiring Report, revealing high demand for frontline workers. Key findings: 91% report urgent hiring needs, 60% of candidates abandon lengthy applications and one-third see interview-stage dropoffs. Last week, iCIMS acquired Apli, an AI-powered recruitment automation company focused on frontline hiring.
meQuilibrium, a workforce mental health solutions leader, completed a growth investment from Bow River Capital. It simultaneously merged with portfolio company RippleWorx, an HCM platform serving federal government and law enforcement agencies.
Kyle & Co., an HR research collective founded by analyst Kyle Lagunas, has partnered with HorizonHuman, an HR consulting firm led by Sarah Smart and Sofia Whelan, to advance AI and business technology impact in human resources.
Recruiting platform Appcast has appointed Matt Plummer as chief product officer. The former ZipRecruiter executive brings 20+ years of experience to guide Appcast’s growth strategy and product development across the recruitment funnel.
Mellow, a global HR platform, has partnered with Payoneer, a cross-border payments provider. The aim is to offer contractors more flexible, secure and cost-effective payments while enhancing global operations through Payoneer’s geographic coverage.
Global HR platform Remote launched Remote Surveys, an AI-powered employee feedback solution. It aims to help HR leaders execute organization-wide engagement surveys in under a minute, uncovering insights and linking them to productivity and retention outcomes.
WalkMe, a digital adoption platform company, introduced an AI-powered learning solution that embeds training directly into daily work applications. The platform addresses the problem of forgotten learning by delivering contextual learning at the moment of need.
Selerix, a benefits administration provider, released its inaugural Employee Benefits Survey. Key findings: 73% say benefits equal salary importance, satisfied employees stay 5x longer and personalization triples satisfaction.
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