Criterion strengthens Sage’s ability to support mid-sized businesses scale faster with its unified, AI-powered HR system that eliminates admin and drives performance.

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Criterion HCM, a leading provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions that users absolutely love, has announced a successful acquisition by Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). The move expands Sage’s AI powered product ecosystem, unlocking new capabilities for finance and HR teams looking to automate, simplify, and scale all on a platform built for the way work is changing.

“At Sage, we’re not just embedding AI into software, we’re rethinking how work gets done," said Jonathan Cowan, EVP, Human Capital Management, Platform and Services at Sage. “Criterion fits perfectly into that vision. With embedded intelligence and an intuitive experience layer, we can deliver HR and payroll that’s no longer just compliant or automated, but truly trusted and proactive.”

As mid-sized organisations scale, they face rising admin burdens, fragmented HR stacks, and increased compliance risk. Sage’s AI vision aims to remove admin entirely, not just reduce it. Criterion’s unified solution covering Core HR, Payroll, and Talent Engagement, eliminates the silos by embedding AI that works quietly in the background to automate repetitive tasks, flag compliance risks, and generate predictive insights across the employee lifecycle.

Criterion already integrates with Sage Intacct and Sage 300 CRE, and this acquisition lays the groundwork to deliver modern, out-of-the-box, cloud native HR and payroll solutions to SMBs as well. With the Sage Platform serving as the unified environment where workflows, applications, and data come together, Sage and Criterion will offer mid-sized businesses a single, intelligent ecosystem that scales with them domestically and internationally.

“Our mission with Criterion has always been to make HR a growth driver, not a blocker,” said Sunil Reddy, CEO of Criterion. “With Sage’s backing, we can now take that vision global, delivering practical, human-first AI that’s purpose-built for the real world of business.”

“From the beginning, we built Criterion with a deep focus on people and innovation,” added Uma Reddy, Co-founder of Criterion. “This next chapter with Sage gives us the scale and reach to make that vision a reality.”

Founded in 2014, Criterion is a US-based company led by co-founders Sunil Reddy and Uma Reddy. The company has grown rapidly, now serving more than 80,000 users across 10+ countries, with a strong focus on mid-sized organizations in North America.

Piper Sandler (https://www.pipersandler.com/) served as financial advisor to Criterion. Egan Nelson (https://www.egannelson.com/) served as legal counsel to Criterion.

About Sage

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs) served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.

About Criterion

Criterion offers an HR platform people actually love, combining built-in flexibility with a commitment to meeting every business’s unique needs.

Our purpose-built platform enhanced by ch.ai - our unique AI capability - seamlessly adapts to each organization's specific challenges, delivering a unified, intuitive, and powerful user experience. With a focus on realized ROI, Criterion simplifies complex HR tasks, boosts efficiency, and ensures customer satisfaction. We proudly serve customers across 10+ countries, achieving a 95% satisfaction rate and 100% uptime.

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Source: Criterion HCM