Qualtrics

Private Equity Manager (GP)

Case study

About the company

Qualtrics, the leader and creator of “experience management” software, is a cloud-native software provider that helps organisations quickly identify and resolve points of friction across all digital and human touchpoints in their business. These insights allow businesses to retain their best customers and employees, protect their revenue, and drive profitability. More than 19,000 organisations around the world use Qualtrics’ advanced Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) platform to improve business performance. Qualtrics houses one of the largest databases of human survey responses in the world. Qualtrics is co-headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle and operates out of 28 offices globally.

Investment rationale

• Qualtrics’ technology is central to how businesses make mission-critical customer and employee decisions which increase revenue and operational efficiency. With an AI-powered platform and built-in automation, companies can deliver exceptional experiences to their customers and employees, at scale.
• The business is led by a strong and experienced management team.
• Qualtrics is recognised as a leader in experience management which is a rapidly growing market.
• Qualtrics has a strong customer base, including well-known brands like Uber, Coca-Cola and Pfizer.

Our relationship

Founded in 1983, Accel is a venture capital firm, based in Palo Alto in the USA, which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build world-class technology-focused companies. Given its global investment mandate, Accel also has offices in other technology hubs such as Bangalore and London. Pantheon has a long-standing relationship with Accel, including active participation as an advisory board member. PIP is currently invested in three Accel funds on a primary basis.

Active management and value creation

Accel led the Series A financing round for Qualtrics in 2012. Subsequently, Accel invested substantial follow-on capital across its platform and has advised the company on initiatives such as product development, new customer acquisition, network introductions, and talent management. Accel’s partnership as an active board member and investor helped enable a sale to SAP and ultimately an initial public offering in January 2021, at a valuation of US$15.1bn.

In 2023, Accel identified Qualtrics as a compelling investment opportunity due to a dislocation in the public stock price. Accel partnered with Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) to purchase the business for approximately US$12.5bn. Accel’s intimate knowledge of the business and ongoing close relationship with the management team makes it a preferred partner to help Qualtrics maintain its market-leading position and continue product innovation.