ServiceNow
American enterprise software company founded in 2003 by former Peregrine Systems CTO Fred Luddy; known for the Now Platform for IT and business workflows, a rejected $2.5 billion VMware takeover in 2011, a 2012 IPO, and Bill McDermott's tenure as CEO since January 2020.
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- Established
- 2003
- Location
- Santa Clara, California, United States
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 2003 as Glidesoft, by Fred Luddy, working from his San Diego home
- Founder background
- Former chief technology officer of Peregrine Systems, who lost a roughly $35 million stake when Peregrine collapsed in a 2002 accounting-fraud bankruptcy
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, California (San Diego-based at the time of its 2012 IPO)
- Chief executive
- Bill McDermott, since January 2020; previously CEO of SAP
- IPO
- June 29, 2012, on the New York Stock Exchange; priced at $18 per share, raising $209.7 million
- Full-year 2022 revenue
- $7.2 billion, up 23 percent on 2021
- Customer renewal rate
- 98 percent, reported in 2018
- Customer base (2018)
- More than 4,000 customers, including 850 of the Global 2000
Overview
ServiceNow is an American enterprise software company whose defining episode came before most people had heard of it: in late 2011, VMware offered about $2.5 billion for the company, founder Fred Luddy and much of the board wanted to sell, and Sequoia Capital’s Doug Leone blocked the deal — offering to buy out any seller at the VMware price, an offer nobody took up (Forbes India). Six months later the company went public, and the rejected takeover became the founding myth of its independence. Today it sells the Now Platform, a cloud system for automating IT and business workflows, under chief executive Bill McDermott, the former SAP chief who took over in January 2020 (TechTarget).
What the organization is known for
ServiceNow began in IT service management — software that runs corporate IT help desks — and spent the 2010s expanding that workflow engine into human resources, customer service, security operations and other departments (Forbes India). By 2023 it described itself as a broad platform for digital transformation achieved by digitizing and further automating workflows, reporting full-year 2022 revenue of $7.2 billion, up 23 percent on 2021 (Computer Weekly). Its commercial signature, reported in 2018, was a 98 percent customer renewal rate across more than 4,000 customers, including 850 of the Global 2000 (Forbes India).
Products and services
The core product is the Now Platform, which aims to help enterprises integrate legacy systems and refine enterprise workflows and processes (ZDNet). The original pitch was simplicity for the average office worker: a single collection centre for requests, data points and checklists that algorithms could then analyze to predict needs and flag concerns (Forbes India). Under McDermott the company layered generative AI onto the platform, most visibly with Now Assist, announced at the Knowledge 23 customer event in May 2023 as a conversational system for employee self-service (Computer Weekly). ServiceNow says it runs its SaaS platform on Microsoft’s Azure cloud in addition to its own infrastructure (ZDNet).
Ownership, founders and leadership
Fred Luddy founded the company in 2003 as Glidesoft, working from his San Diego home at the age of 49, after losing a roughly $35 million stake in the 2002 accounting-fraud collapse of Peregrine Systems, where he had been chief technology officer; Peregrine’s top executives went to prison, while Luddy was never charged with wrongdoing (Forbes India). Luddy stepped aside from the CEO role in 2011 to become chief product officer, making way for Frank Slootman, the former Data Domain chief hired with Sequoia’s backing to build an enterprise sales machine (Forbes India). Slootman was succeeded by former eBay CEO John Donahoe in 2017, and Donahoe by Bill McDermott in January 2020 after Donahoe left to run Nike (Forbes India; TechTarget). McDermott had spent 17 years at SAP, becoming CEO of SAP America in 2002, co-CEO in 2010 and sole CEO in 2014 — the first non-German to hold the post (TechTarget).
Funding and acquisitions
The company raised a $2.5 million Series A led by JMI Equity in July 2005, followed by two further rounds totaling $11 million, and took $41.4 million in a Sequoia-led Series D in late 2009, by which point revenue was doubling annually and the business was cash-flow positive (Forbes India). It went public on June 29, 2012, pricing at $18 — above the expected $15–17 range — and opening at $23.16, up 29 percent; the sale of 11.65 million shares raised $209.7 million, of which founder Luddy sold 2.65 million shares, with Morgan Stanley leading the underwriting (Reuters). In 2020, under McDermott, ServiceNow made four AI acquisitions — Loom Systems, Passage AI, Sweagle and Montreal-based Element AI, co-founded by machine-learning pioneer Yoshua Bengio, who agreed to stay on as a technical advisor; financial terms were not disclosed (ZDNet).
Regulation, licenses and compliance record
None of the five fully-read sources for this profile documents a regulatory enforcement action, license proceeding or compliance certification involving ServiceNow. McDermott has publicly framed the platform’s enterprise pitch around data governance, telling Computer Weekly that customer data stays the customer’s — “we don’t even have the right to look at it” — with compliance and security guardrails built in (Computer Weekly). A reported 2014 patent-infringement settlement and a 2013 federal security authorization appear only in tertiary leads and are not asserted here (see open items).
Timeline
- 2003 — Fred Luddy founds the company as Glidesoft from his San Diego home, an early SaaS entrant (Forbes India).
- July 2005 — $2.5 million Series A led by JMI Equity; first contract signed with WagerWorks that fall (Forbes India).
- Late 2009 — Sequoia Capital leads a $41.4 million Series D; Frank Slootman is brought in as CEO (Forbes India).
- 2011 — Luddy moves from CEO to chief product officer; late in the year, Sequoia blocks a ~$2.5 billion VMware takeover that Luddy and much of the board favored (Forbes India).
- June 29, 2012 — NYSE debut at $18, opening up 29 percent at $23.16; $209.7 million raised (Reuters).
- 2016 — Revenue hits $1.39 billion; market cap $12.34 billion (Forbes India).
- 2017 — John Donahoe hired as CEO (Forbes India).
- October 2019 — Donahoe departs for Nike; Bill McDermott named CEO effective January 2020 (TechTarget).
- 2020 — Four AI acquisitions, capped by Element AI in November (ZDNet).
- 2022 — Full-year revenue $7.2 billion, up 23 percent (Computer Weekly).
- May 2023 — Now Assist generative AI unveiled at Knowledge 23 in Las Vegas (Computer Weekly).
Competitors and partners
Forbes India names Salesforce, Microsoft, IBM and Workday as the competitive set ServiceNow was pivoting against as it moved beyond IT departments (Forbes India). On partnerships, ServiceNow runs its SaaS platform on Microsoft’s Azure in addition to its own cloud infrastructure (ZDNet). McDermott’s own framing is complementarity rather than replacement: the core transactional systems stay in place while ServiceNow provides the action layer above them (Computer Weekly).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not assert a founding date more precise than the year 2003: some accounts date the California incorporation to 2004, and that discrepancy is unresolved. It does not state the NYSE ticker symbol, which was not verified in a fully-read source. The ~$2.5 billion VMware figure rests on a single sourced account (Sequoia’s Doug Leone via Forbes India). A reported 2014 HP patent settlement and a 2013 federal security authorization are not asserted because they could not be verified beyond tertiary leads. Financial results after full-year 2022, and the details of the Loom Systems, Passage AI and Sweagle acquisitions beyond their 2020 timing, were not researched for this profile.
Timeline
- 2003
- Fred Luddy, the former chief technology officer of Peregrine Systems, founds the company as Glidesoft, working from his San Diego home and delivering office services over the internet on a subscription basis — an early software-as-a-service model.
- 2005-07
- ServiceNow raises a $2.5 million Series A round led by JMI Equity, and signs its first contract, with offshore gambling site WagerWorks, in the fall of 2005.
- 2009
- Sequoia Capital leads a $41.4 million Series D round; managing partner Doug Leone helps recruit Frank Slootman, who had taken Data Domain public before its sale to EMC, as chief executive.
- 2011
- Luddy steps aside from the CEO role to become chief product officer. Late in the year VMware offers about $2.5 billion for the company; Luddy and much of the board want to sell, but Sequoia's Doug Leone blocks the deal, offering to buy out any seller at the VMware price — and no one takes him up on it.
- 2012-06-29
- ServiceNow debuts on the New York Stock Exchange, pricing at $18 per share — above the expected $15–17 range — and opening at $23.16, up 29 percent. The company sells 11.65 million shares, raising $209.7 million; founder Fred Luddy sells 2.65 million of those shares. Fiscal-2011 revenue had more than doubled to $92.6 million, with a $9.8 million profit after a $29.7 million loss in 2010.
- 2016
- Revenues reach $1.39 billion and the market capitalization $12.34 billion, as the company begins expanding beyond IT departments into customer service, human resources and other workflow areas.
- 2017
- Former eBay chief executive John Donahoe is hired as CEO, succeeding Slootman, to lead the push beyond IT service management into company-wide employee workflows.
- 2019-10
- ServiceNow announces Donahoe will step down to become CEO of Nike and that Bill McDermott, who recently resigned as CEO of SAP, will take over as ServiceNow chief executive in January 2020.
- 2020
- Under McDermott the company makes four AI acquisitions: Loom Systems, Passage AI, Sweagle and, in November, Montreal-based Element AI, co-founded by machine-learning pioneer Yoshua Bengio, who agrees to serve as a technical advisor. Financial terms are not disclosed.
- 2022
- Full-year revenue reaches $7.2 billion, up 23 percent on 2021, as the company styles itself as a broad platform for digital transformation through digitized, automated workflows.
- 2023-05
- At its Knowledge 23 customer event in Las Vegas, ServiceNow announces Now Assist, a generative-AI system for conversational employee self-service, alongside the "the world works with ServiceNow" brand campaign.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Founding year is given as 2003 (as Glidesoft) by Forbes India; other accounts date the California incorporation to 2004. The profile follows the 2003 founding narrative.
- The NYSE ticker symbol "NOW" appears in reference material but was not verified in a fully-read source; the profile asserts only the NYSE listing itself.
- The ~$2.5 billion VMware offer figure comes via Sequoia's Doug Leone as reported by Forbes India — a single sourced account.
- A reported 2014 HP patent-infringement settlement and a 2013 federal security authorization (FISMA/FedRAMP) appear only in tertiary leads and were not verified — neither is asserted.
- Financials after full-year 2022 were not researched for this profile.
Sources
5 sources (1 tier 1, 4 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
- Supports: The June 29, 2012 NYSE debut: $18 pricing (above the $15–17 range), $23.16 opening (+29 percent), 11.65 million shares and $209.7 million raised (9 million by the company, 2.65 million by founder Fred Luddy); San Diego base at IPO; CEO Frank Slootman's quoted remarks on timing; fiscal-2011 revenue of $92.6 million (more than doubled), $9.8 million profit after a $29.7 million 2010 loss; Morgan Stanley as lead underwriter. Open original source
- Supports: John Donahoe stepping down as CEO to lead Nike; Bill McDermott (recently resigned SAP CEO) taking over as ServiceNow CEO in January 2020; McDermott's SAP pedigree (SAP America CEO 2002, co-CEO 2010, sole CEO 2014); Q3 2019 subscription revenues of $835 million (+35 percent year over year); full-year 2019 guidance of $3.240–3.245 billion in subscription revenues and $3.740–3.745 billion in subscription billings. Open original source
- Supports: Fred Luddy's background (Peregrine Systems CTO, ~$35 million stake lost in the 2002 accounting-fraud bankruptcy, not charged); founding at age 49 from his San Diego home (~2003) as a SaaS pioneer; July 2005 $2.5 million Series A led by JMI Equity; first contract with WagerWorks (fall 2005); Sequoia's $41.4 million Series D (late 2009) and the hiring of Frank Slootman; Luddy's 2011 move from CEO to chief product officer; the rejected ~$2.5 billion VMware takeover offer of late 2011 and Sequoia's Doug Leone blocking it; the June 2012 IPO; 2016 revenue of $1.39 billion and $12.34 billion market cap; John Donahoe's hiring as CEO (2017); Santa Clara headquarters; ~$30 billion market cap, 6,000+ employees, 4,000+ customers including 850 of the Global 2000, 2017 revenue of $1.93 billion and 98 percent renewal rate (at article time); named competitors Salesforce, Microsoft, IBM and Workday. Open original source
- Supports: The November 2020 acquisition of Montreal-based Element AI (co-founded by machine-learning pioneer Yoshua Bengio; terms undisclosed); it was the fourth AI acquisition of 2020 after Loom Systems, Passage AI and Sweagle; Bengio to serve as technical advisor; the Now Platform described as integrating legacy systems and refining enterprise workflows; ServiceNow running its SaaS platform on Microsoft Azure plus its own cloud. Open original source
- Supports: McDermott taking the helm in 2019 after 17 years at SAP; the company's origins in cloud delivery and management of IT services and its repositioning as a broad digital-transformation workflow platform; full-year 2022 revenue of $7.2 billion (+23 percent on 2021); the Now Assist generative-AI announcement at Knowledge 23 (May 2023); the "the world works with ServiceNow" brand campaign; McDermott's framing of ServiceNow as an action layer above systems of record (SAP, Workday, Microsoft named as coexisting rather than replaced). Open original source
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