Cornerstone OnDemand
Cloud-based human capital management and talent development software provider
Last updated October 16, 2026
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Overview
Cornerstone OnDemand is a cloud-based human capital management software company serving enterprise organizations. Its platform centers on employee learning, talent management, and workforce development, bringing together software capabilities that organizations use to support training, skills development, career growth, and broader workforce planning. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The business began in 1999 under the name CyberU. It was founded by Adam Miller, Perry Wallack, and Steven Seymour as an online corporate training and learning-technology company. Its early focus was on delivering training through the internet. Over time, the company moved beyond online training delivery and developed a broader software model for managing organizational learning and talent processes. That transition established the basis for the Cornerstone OnDemand brand and its enterprise software positioning. Cornerstone's principal market is business-to-business software. Rather than selling a consumer learning product, it provides cloud services to organizations that need to administer employee development and related human-resources programs across large workforces. Its product scope includes learning management, talent management, and workforce development. The cloud-based model allows customers to access the platform without operating the underlying software infrastructure themselves, while giving Cornerstone a recurring enterprise-software operating model. A major corporate milestone came in 2011, when Cornerstone OnDemand became a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock market under the ticker symbol CSOD. Public-company status supported the company's expansion as an enterprise technology provider and made its financial and operating performance subject to public-market reporting. By 2017, more than 3,000 companies were reported to be using its software. In the same year, LinkedIn and Silver Lake made a combined investment of $300 million, linking Cornerstone with a major professional social network and a technology-focused investment firm. Cornerstone expanded its position in talent-management software through acquisitions. The 2020 acquisition of Saba broadened the company's customer and product footprint; reference material reports that the combined business served approximately 7,000 users or organizations. The transaction strengthened Cornerstone's position in learning and talent-management software and formed part of broader industry consolidation around integrated human-capital platforms. In August 2021, Clearlake Capital Group acquired Cornerstone OnDemand in a transaction reported at approximately $5.2 billion. The acquisition took the company private and ended its Nasdaq listing. As a result, Cornerstone moved from a publicly listed software company to a privately held business owned by a private-equity firm. The company remains associated with enterprise learning, talent management, and workforce development software. Current details about its leadership, post-acquisition corporate structure, product names, and geographic operations are not established in the supplied references.
History
Cornerstone OnDemand was established in 1999 by Adam Miller, Perry Wallack, and Steven Seymour. The company initially operated as CyberU, an online corporate training and learning-technology provider. Its founding placed it within the early development of internet-delivered corporate education, but the business later evolved toward a broader enterprise software model. The company's strategic development involved moving from online training content and delivery toward cloud-based systems for administering organizational learning and talent processes. Under the Cornerstone OnDemand identity, it became associated with learning management, talent management, and workforce development software. These categories address the systems organizations use to train employees, manage skills and development, and support workforce planning. The cloud-based approach made the platform suitable for enterprise customers seeking centralized software rather than separately operated training systems. Cornerstone became a public company in 2011, listing on Nasdaq under the symbol CSOD. The listing marked a significant change in corporate status and gave the company access to public equity markets. Its customer base expanded substantially during the following years. Reference material states that more than 3,000 companies were using its software by 2017. That year, LinkedIn and Silver Lake invested a reported $300 million in Cornerstone, providing strategic and financial support while the company operated as a public enterprise-software provider. The company continued to grow through sector consolidation. In 2020, it acquired Saba, another provider of learning and talent-management technology. The transaction expanded Cornerstone's product and customer footprint and was reported as increasing the combined user base to approximately 7,000 users or organizations. The acquisition reinforced Cornerstone's position as a broad provider of human-capital and workforce-development systems rather than a narrowly focused learning tool. In August 2021, Clearlake Capital Group acquired Cornerstone OnDemand in a transaction reported at approximately $5.2 billion. The deal changed the company's ownership from public shareholders to a private-equity owner and resulted in Cornerstone becoming privately held. Its Nasdaq ticker was consequently no longer applicable. The acquisition represents the latest clearly documented corporate turning point in the supplied material. Cornerstone's documented business identity is that of an enterprise cloud-software provider focused on learning, talent, and workforce development. The available references do not provide sufficiently detailed information about later acquisitions, current executives, current product branding, revenue, or the company's present geographic footprint. Those areas require additional verification before being added to the encyclopedia record.
- 2021
Acquisition by Clearlake Capital
[1]Clearlake Capital acquired Cornerstone OnDemand in a reported transaction of approximately $5.2 billion, taking the company private.
- 2020
Saba acquisition
[1]Cornerstone acquired Saba, expanding its learning and talent-management software business.
- 2017
Strategic and financial investment
[1]LinkedIn and Silver Lake invested a reported $300 million in Cornerstone OnDemand.
- 2011
Nasdaq public offering
[1]Cornerstone OnDemand became publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker CSOD.
- 1999
Company founded as CyberU
[1]Adam Miller, Perry Wallack, and Steven Seymour founded the business as CyberU, an online corporate training and learning-technology company.
Products and positioning
Enterprise cloud software for organizational learning, employee development, talent management, and workforce transformation.
Learning management
Cornerstone learning management software
Cornerstone's learning-management software is designed for enterprise training and employee development. It supports the company's broader cloud platform for organizing organizational learning rather than functioning solely as a standalone consumer education service. The supplied references identify learning management as one of Cornerstone's principal software areas, but do not provide a verified list of current modules or features.
Talent management
Cornerstone talent management software
The talent-management offering forms part of Cornerstone's enterprise human-capital software portfolio. It is intended to help organizations manage employee development and related talent processes through cloud-based systems. The available source material does not establish a separate current product name or a complete feature inventory, so this entry describes the documented product category rather than assigning unverified branding.
Learning and talent management
Saba software portfolio
Saba's learning and talent-management software became part of Cornerstone's business through the 2020 acquisition. The transaction broadened Cornerstone's customer and product footprint and increased the reported scale of the combined user base. The supplied references do not specify whether individual Saba products remain separately branded or how they are currently integrated.
Brand decisions
2021
Sale to Clearlake CapitalM&ABackground
Cornerstone was a publicly traded provider of enterprise learning and talent-management software.
Action taken
Clearlake Capital Group acquired the company in a transaction reported at approximately $5.2 billion.
Aftermath
Cornerstone became privately held and ceased to trade on Nasdaq.
Reported transaction value. $5.2 billion (August 2021)
2020
Acquisition of SabaM&ABackground
Cornerstone sought to expand its position in learning and talent-management software.
Action taken
Cornerstone acquired Saba and combined the businesses' software and customer footprints.
Aftermath
The combined operation was reported to serve approximately 7,000 users or organizations, although the supplied material does not clarify the measurement.
2011
Transition to public-company operationStrategyBackground
Cornerstone had developed from an online corporate training business into a cloud-based enterprise software provider.
Action taken
The company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker CSOD.
Aftermath
Cornerstone operated as a publicly traded enterprise-software company until it was acquired and taken private in 2021.
Recent events
Clearlake completes acquisition of Cornerstone OnDemand[2]
Reported:
Clearlake Capital announced that it had completed its acquisition of Cornerstone OnDemand, acquiring the outstanding common shares for $57.50 per share in cash. Cornerstone became privately held and its common shares were no longer publicly listed.
Vector Capital completes minority investment in Cornerstone[2]
Reported:
Vector Capital completed its minority investment in Cornerstone, as reported in the release announcing Clearlake's acquisition completion.
- Unconfirmed
Cornerstone announces agreement to acquire Saba[3]
Cornerstone OnDemand announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Saba in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.395 billion; the deal was expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.
- Unconfirmed
Cornerstone reports fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2019 results[3]
Cornerstone OnDemand reported its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2019 financial results, including revenue of $149.6 million for the quarter and $576.5 million for the full year.
- Unconfirmed
Cornerstone OnDemand acquires Saba[4]
Cornerstone OnDemand said it had acquired Saba in a deal worth approximately $1.395 billion. The company expected the deal to be complete in the second quarter of 2020.
A-Check Global makes screening integration available through Cornerstone[5]
Reported:
A-Check Global announced that its background screening solutions were integrated as a partner within Cornerstone's EDGE marketplace and made available through Cornerstone's talent management system.
Sources5 sources
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