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Qualtrics
Qualtrics is the Experience Management (XM) platform co-founded by Ryan Smith in 2002, serving over 20,000 brands globally.
Qualtrics
Ryan Smith, Jared Smith, and Scott Smith founded Qualtrics in Provo, Utah, in 2002, initially as a survey platform. The company went public on the Nasdaq in January 2021, raising $1.8B in its IPO, before Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) acquired it for $12.5B in June 2023, taking it private again (per the firm, June 2023). Qualtrics operates the XM Platform, a unified system for customer, employee, product, and brand experience data. The platform uses AI for predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, and automated action workflows. Clients span over 20,000 organizations, including ServiceNow, Shake Shack, Mercedes-Benz, and the NBA’s Utah Jazz. The company serves 20 offices across 5 continents, with confirmed client deployments in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Australia. Qualtrics employs roughly 5,000 people globally. The firm's philanthropic arm, 5 For The Fight, encourages donations to cancer research and sponsors the Utah Jazz jersey patch. In June 2023, Silver Lake and CPP Investments closed their $12.5B acquisition of Qualtrics, taking the company private (per the firm, June 2023) Qualtrics' structural differentiator is its Experience Management category itself—the firm defines and owns this software segment. It competes not against other enterprise feedback tools but against disconnected point solutions, offering a single, AI-powered platform that unifies all experience data. Its security posture (FedRAMP, HIPAA, GDPR compliance) also makes it a trusted vendor for highly regulated industries.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2002
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Provo
Corporate office
Provo, UT, United States
Additional offices
Seattle, WA, United States · San Francisco, CA, United States · New York, NY, United States · Dallas, TX, United States · London, United Kingdom · Dublin, Ireland · Paris, France · Berlin, Germany · Amsterdam, Netherlands · Sydney, Australia · Singapore · Tokyo, Japan
Principals
Ryan Smith
Founder & Executive Chairman
Jared Smith
Founder & Chief Product Officer
Scott Smith
Founder & Chief Innovation Officer
Zig Serafin
Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who controls Qualtrics after the 2023 take-private?
Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) own Qualtrics following their $12.5B acquisition completed in June 2023. The Smith family remains involved: Ryan Smith serves as Executive Chairman, and his brothers Jared and Scott continue as Chief Product Officer and Chief Innovation Officer, respectively.
Does Qualtrics operate as a typical family office?
No. Qualtrics is a standalone enterprise software company. The Smith family does not run a separate family office; their wealth is tied to their ownership in Qualtrics and other ventures like Ryan Smith's ownership of the Utah Jazz.
What industries does Qualtrics serve?
Qualtrics serves healthcare, financial services, retail, hospitality, technology, government, and education, among others. Its platform is used by over 20,000 organizations, including ServiceNow, Shake Shack, Mercedes-Benz, and the NBA's Utah Jazz (per the firm).
Is Qualtrics publicly traded?
No. Qualtrics was taken private in June 2023 by Silver Lake and CPP Investments. It previously traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker XM.
What is Qualtrics' total addressable market?
Qualtrics defines its market as experience management (XM), which it estimates at over $50B globally, encompassing customer, employee, product, and brand experience software.
What is 5 For The Fight?
5 For The Fight is a Qualtrics-founded charity that encourages donations of $5 (or more) to cancer research. It sponsors the Utah Jazz jersey patch, for which Qualtrics donates its sponsorship rights.
Who are Qualtrics' main competitors?
Qualtrics competes against point solutions like Medallia (customer experience), SurveyMonkey (surveys), Verint (customer feedback), and generic AI research tools. Its core differentiator is a unified platform combining CX, EX, product, and brand research.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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