Archer (RSA Archer)
Archer sells risk and compliance tracking software to big regulated firms.
On the record
Checkpoint: Archer Evolv's third module ships and Cinven's typical private equity exit window opens
The call
Archer's regulated customers stay put for now, but flat revenue and a fourth ownership change in five years show the pressure building.
Archer sells risk management software to big banks and companies, helping them track and report on risks, compliance, and internal controls. It is hard to replace because it has been around for years and is deeply woven into how 1,200 large companies (including 38 of the top 50 banks) do their work, which means switching to something new is painful and costly. However, Archer's revenue has flatlined around $183 million while the market grows, ServiceNow is selling similar tools through its huge customer base, and new AI-powered startups like Trustero are telling customers they can do Archer's job faster with less manual work. The one thing that could change the picture is whether Archer's new software platform, called Evolv, can win deals at new customers instead of just keeping existing ones happy; if it only keeps current customers from leaving while revenue stays stuck, then Archer is quietly being replaced.
Why
01
AI pressure: Trustero, Risk Cognizance. AI native GRC tools market themselves as replacements for Archer's manual workflow setup, not just add ons. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: ServiceNow (IRM module). ServiceNow's IRM module rides inside a platform many customers already own, letting them skip buying Archer separately. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Banks and Fortune 500 firms have years of audit trails and workflows built into Archer, making a swap slow and risky.
What would change this call
Archer discloses net-new regulated-enterprise logos won via Evolv, not just renewals. Would show Evolv is growing share, not just retaining existing customers.
Cinven announces a sale or IPO process for Archer within the next 6-18 months. Would show whether exit reflects strength or distressed financial engineering.
Gartner or Verdantix next-cycle report places Archer below ServiceNow or LogicGate in new rankings. Would confirm analyst-perceived erosion of Archer's leader position.
Cinven announces a sale or IPO process for Archer within the next 6-18 months. Would show whether exit reflects strength or distressed financial engineering.
Gartner or Verdantix next-cycle report places Archer below ServiceNow or LogicGate in new rankings. Would confirm analyst-perceived erosion of Archer's leader position.
Key numbers
- 1,200+ customers, 38 of top 50 banks use Archer
- Revenue estimated $182.8M, down from $255.8M in 2022
- 4 different owners of Archer in 5 years
Named risks
- Repeated PE ownership (four owners since 2020) raises chance of another sale or cost-cutting within 6 to 18 months.
- AI-native GRC startups explicitly market displacing Archer's manual workflows.
- ServiceNow's shipped IRM module leverages existing installed-base distribution to encroach on GRC deals.
- Gartner's October 2025 retirement of the old IRM Magic Quadrant category signals ongoing competitive redefinition.
- No independently audited revenue or profitability figures are public, obscuring true growth trajectory.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow | gaining on | IRM module ships within broader platform, cited as encroaching competitor in 2025 Verdantix report |
| LogicGate | contesting | Named a Leader alongside Archer in Gartner's Oct 2025 GRC Tools MQ |
| IBM OpenPages | contesting | Named a Leader alongside Archer in Gartner's Oct 2025 GRC Tools MQ |
| Diligent | contesting | Named a Leader alongside Archer in Gartner's Oct 2025 GRC Tools MQ |
| Trustero | gaining on | AI-native compliance tool marketed as replacement for manual Archer workflows, per Aug 2025 blog |
| Risk Cognizance | gaining on | Published case study on replacing Archer risk management software, Aug 1, 2025 |
Questions people ask
- Is Archer (RSA Archer) profitable in 2026?
- Archer does not disclose profitability or audited revenue; it is privately held under PE owner Cinven as of 2026. Its own marketing claims over 1,200 customers and 38 of the top 50 banks, but no profit figures have been made public by the company.
- Could AI replace Archer's GRC platform?
- Archer's core value has been rules-based workflow orchestration, which AI-native challengers like Trustero and Risk Cognizance explicitly market as replaceable; Archer responded by launching Archer Evolv on Feb 4, 2025, repositioning itself around AI-driven compliance workflows.
- Who owns Archer now?
- Archer is owned by Cinven, a PE firm that closed its acquisition on July 10, 2023 from Clearlake Capital and Symphony Technology Group; ICG Enterprise Trust is also listed as an investor as of a 2026 database snapshot.
- What is Archer's biggest competitor?
- Gartner's October 2025 Magic Quadrant for GRC Tools named five Leaders alongside Archer: Optro (formerly AuditBoard), Diligent, IBM OpenPages, and LogicGate, while ServiceNow's shipped IRM module poses a distribution-advantage threat from an adjacent platform giant.
- What is Archer Evolv?
- Archer Evolv is Archer's AI-powered SaaS platform, launched Feb 4, 2025 initially as 'Archer Evolv for Compliance' and expanded by mid-2026 into three modules (Compliance, Risk, Intelligence) for regulatory horizon-scanning and predictive risk analytics.
- Has Archer been sold multiple times?
- Yes. Archer went from EMC/RSA (2011) to Dell (via 2015 EMC acquisition), then Symphony Technology Group in 2020, a Clearlake Capital partnership in 2021, and finally Cinven, which closed its purchase on July 10, 2023.
Timeline
- 2026-06-30Archer publishes self-run benchmark claiming 95% accuracy vs 44% for a general-purpose LLM on regulatory date extraction
- 2026-03-17Named a Leader in Forrester Wave: Third-Party Risk Management Platforms, Q1 2026
- 2025-10-27Named a Leader in new Gartner Magic Quadrant for GRC Tools, Assurance Leaders, replacing prior IRM MQ
- 2025-02-04Archer launches Archer Evolv, an AI-powered SaaS platform, starting with Compliance module
- 2024Archer acquires Compliance.ai, adding AI-driven regulatory change monitoring
- 2023-07-10Cinven closes acquisition of Archer from Clearlake Capital and Symphony Technology Group
- 2023-04-13Cinven announces agreement to acquire Archer
- 2021Symphony Technology Group partners with Clearlake Capital to run Archer as standalone business
- 2020Symphony Technology Group acquires Archer as part of RSA Security purchase from Dell Technologies
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Archer - M&A Summary, Ownership, and Business Overview (2024-03-19)
- Cinven agrees to acquire Archer (2023-04-13)
- Archer History Timeline (2022-07-31)
- EMC to Acquire Archer Technologies for Security Risk Management (2021-02-02)
- Clearlake and STG Complete Sale of Archer to Cinven (2023-07-10)
- Cinven to acquire Archer (2023-04-13)
- Clearlake and STG Complete Sale of Archer to Cinven (2023-07-10)
- Archer Technologies 2026 Company Profile (2026)
- Archer - Overview, News & Similar companies (2026-07-07)
- Revenue, Competitors, Alternatives (2022-04-16)
- Companies using Archer IRM (active customer list) (2026-06-14)
- Gartner Magic Quadrant for GRC Tools, Assurance Leaders (2025-10-26)