Qualtrics to acquire healthcare tech firm Press Ganey Forsta in $6.75B deal

Qualtrics is making a major push into healthcare with a $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta, a move that signals how experience management and AI are converging inside one of the most lucrative industries. The Financial Times first reported the deal on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. A formal announcement is expected later today.

The combination pairs Qualtrics’ AI capabilities with Press Ganey’s deep ties across the healthcare sector. The companies are betting this merger will give them a strong edge in building new AI-driven tools and services for hospitals, health systems, and insurers. It’s also a defensive play: large tech players like Palantir and Oracle have been moving aggressively into healthcare, and Press Ganey’s expanded tech stack could help it hold ground against these giants.

Qualtrics provides software that helps organizations measure and analyze customer, employee, product, and brand experiences. Its clients range from Fortune 100 companies to governments and top universities, with names like Microsoft, BMW, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on its roster. Qualtrics was acquired for $12.5 billion in 2023 by Silver Lake and CPP Investments, marking its second ownership change in less than seven years.

Press Ganey, through Forsta, brings deep expertise in healthcare market research. By joining forces, the two aim to create a data and AI platform that helps healthcare organizations understand patients and staff more deeply, improve service delivery, and compete in a market that’s seeing increased competition from enterprise software heavyweights.

Qualtrics competes with SurveyMonkey in the survey software space but has built a broader platform over the years, with more advanced features and a stronger financial track record. Founded in 2002 by Jared Smith, Ryan Smith, and Stuart Orgill, the company’s XM Platform helps organizations manage customer, employee, product, and brand experiences from a single system. Today, more than 9,000 enterprises use Qualtrics, including over 75% of the Fortune 100 and 99 of the top 100 U.S. business schools.

This acquisition is one of the largest in the healthcare data and research space in recent years, and it could reshape how hospitals and health systems collect and act on patient feedback at scale.