SAS Declares AI Ambitions Ahead of 2025 IPO

Decades in the Making: SAS Plans to Go Public

SAS, the long-standing analytics software firm founded in 1976, is setting the stage for a public listing in 2025. This transition comes after nearly five decades as a privately held company, positioning the North Carolina-based company for a modernized future rooted in artificial intelligence. As part of its transformation, SAS is emphasizing cloud delivery, simplified pricing models, and integrated AI capabilities to stay competitive and attract a broader base of enterprise customers. CEO Jim Goodnight and CMO Jennifer Chase are spearheading a brand refresh meant to highlight SAS’s value amid today’s AI frenzy. The move underscores the company’s intent to prove that it’s not just legacy software—it’s actively evolving to meet the moment.

AI-Powered Pivot in a Competitive Landscape

Facing aggressive industry competition from cloud-native platforms and AI-first startups, SAS is betting big on operationalizing AI in enterprise settings. The company’s flagship platform, Viya, is now central to this mission, aiming to bring developers, data scientists, and business users onto the same page. SAS is also stepping up partnerships with major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and broadening its AI-ready tools. This AI-driven shift is more than a rebrand—it’s a strategic pivot designed to ensure SAS remains not just relevant, but indispensable, in an era where analytics and machine learning are foundational to business decisions.