Glean
AI search platform that connects a company's apps into one searchable layer.
On the record
Checkpoint: Glean:GO 2026 conference in San Francisco, likely new product and pricing news
The call
Glean keeps adding revenue and customers while Microsoft folds similar search into Office, leaving its cross app knowledge graph as the thing still worth paying extra for.
Glean is a search tool that uses AI to find information scattered across a company's emails, documents, and apps, and it understands who is allowed to see what. Right now, no single rival has built the same breadth of connections to all those apps or the permission system, which makes it hard to copy quickly. However, Microsoft is now selling its own AI search built into Office 365, and companies can get Claude or Gemini from OpenAI and Google instead, which could let them build similar tools themselves or just use what's already in their Microsoft license. The real test will be whether Microsoft actually pushes existing Glean customers away when they renew, or whether Glean stays useful enough that companies keep both.
Why
01
AI pressure: Microsoft 365 Copilot Search and OpenAI's enterprise search push. Copilot now reads a company's own files and chats directly, so buyers may skip a separate AI search layer entirely. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Microsoft (365 Copilot Search plus Copilot Retrieval API, GA). Microsoft bundles search and retrieval into Office 365 licenses, making a standalone Glean subscription harder to justify at renewal time. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. 275plus prebuilt connectors, permission aware indexing, and use across 5+ departments make Glean costly to rip out once installed.
What would change this call
Public reports of enterprises replacing Glean with Microsoft Copilot at renewal in mixed-vendor accounts. Would show Microsoft actively displacing Glean, not just competing for new logos.
Glean's next ARR disclosure (post-$300M) and net revenue retention figures under its consumption pricing model. Would reveal whether renewal economics are holding or compressing under usage-based billing.
Product announcements at Glean:GO (Aug 26-27, 2026) addressing Microsoft/Google integration parity. Would indicate whether Glean is widening or narrowing its connector/graph lead over hyperscalers.
Glean's next ARR disclosure (post-$300M) and net revenue retention figures under its consumption pricing model. Would reveal whether renewal economics are holding or compressing under usage-based billing.
Product announcements at Glean:GO (Aug 26-27, 2026) addressing Microsoft/Google integration parity. Would indicate whether Glean is widening or narrowing its connector/graph lead over hyperscalers.
Key numbers
- $300M ARR, tripled from $100M in 15 months
- $150M Series F at $7.2B valuation
- 1,740 employees, up 281% since 2023
Named risks
- Microsoft 365 Copilot's native integration could displace Glean in installed, mixed-vendor accounts.
- Shift to consumption-based pricing raises customer infrastructure costs at renewal, risking margin compression.
- Reported ARR figure includes consumption revenue, not pure recurring subscription, per TechCrunch.
- Basic document search and Q&A functions are increasingly commoditized by hyperscaler-native AI assistants.
- No confirmed new funding round since June 2025 Series F despite rapid ARR growth and headcount scaling.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft (365 Copilot Search / Copilot Retrieval API) | contesting | Copilot Retrieval API and Copilot Search reached GA by April 2026, per Futurum coverage |
| Google (Gemini Enterprise) | contesting | Gemini Enterprise cited as a live substitute for Google-centric enterprises as of mid-2026 |
| OpenAI (ChatGPT Enterprise) | contesting | OpenAI reportedly discouraged investors from backing Glean, per Computerworld, October 2024 |
| Moveworks (part of ServiceNow) | contesting | Named as closest direct peer in employee support/IT automation search category |
| Amazon (Q Business) and Salesforce (Agentforce) | contesting | Listed among hyperscaler/platform incumbents building overlapping enterprise AI assistant capability |
Questions people ask
- Is Glean profitable in 2026?
- No public profitability figure has been disclosed. Glean reported $300M ARR as of May 2026, tripling from $100M in about 15 months, but TechCrunch noted this figure includes consumption-based revenue, not pure subscription ARR, and no net income data is public.
- Could AI replace Glean?
- Unlikely soon: Glean owns 275+ enterprise connectors, a permissions-aware Enterprise Graph, and deep 5+ department embedding in 85%+ of customers as of December 2025. CEO Arvind Jain argues frontier models commoditize at the model layer but can't replicate enterprise-specific integration work.
- Who is Glean's biggest competitor?
- Microsoft, via 365 Copilot Search and the now-GA Copilot Retrieval API, is the most cited incumbent threat as of 2026. Google's Gemini Enterprise and frontier labs like OpenAI also compete; OpenAI reportedly discouraged investors from backing Glean, per an October 2024 Computerworld report.
- Who owns Glean?
- Glean Technologies is privately held and venture-backed, with no parent company. Its June 2025 Series F raised $150M at a $7.2B valuation, led by Wellington Management, with investors including Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst, and Coatue.
- How fast is Glean growing?
- Glean's ARR went from $100M in February 2025 to $200M by December 2025 to $300M by May 2026, per company press releases, meaning it tripled in about 15 months. Fortune 500 customer count nearly doubled year over year as of May 2026.
- What is Glean's valuation as of 2026?
- Glean's most recently confirmed valuation is $7.2B, set in its June 2025 Series F round of $150M led by Wellington Management. No new equity round had been confirmed as of July 2026, though a PitchBook reference to a re-valuation appears inconsistent with other sources.
Timeline
- 2026-07-14Expanded sales-connector ecosystem with Clari, Salesloft, Crayon, Fathom, Granola, Otter, Showpad, Zoom
- 2026-06-29Launched Independent agents: proactive, memory-driven agents with audit trails and emergency stop
- 2026-05-28Glean surpasses $300M ARR, tripling from $100M in about 15 months
- 2026-05-21CEO Arvind Jain states no plans to use AI to reduce Glean's own headcount
- 2026-03-25Glean adds support for Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemini models, 15+ LLMs total
- 2026-03-11Glean acquires AI data-extraction startup Aryn; standalone service sunset by April 15, 2026
- 2025-12-08Glean surpasses $200M ARR, reports 85%+ of customers active in 5+ departments
- 2025-06-10Series F closes: $150M raised at $7.2B valuation, led by Wellington Management
- 2024-10-03Computerworld reports OpenAI discouraged investors from backing Glean
- 2024-09-09Series E closes: over $260M raised at $4.6B valuation, co-led by Altimeter and DST Global
Revision history
20 July 2026
First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Glean Surpasses $300M ARR (2026-05-28)
- Glean Doubles ARR to $200M; Can Its Knowledge Graph Beat Copilot? (2026-04-03)
- Glean company press release (2025-12-08)
- Glean Raises $150M Series F (2025-06-10)
- Glean Announces Over $260M Series E (2024-09-09)
- $4.6B Enterprise Search That OpenAI Flagged (2026-07-20)
- Revelio Labs - Glean (2026-06-29)
- Business Today - Arvind Jain (2026-05-21)
- VB Transform 2026 coverage (2026-07-20)
- Computerworld (2024-10-03)
- Aryn joins Glean (2026-03-11)
- Glean docs - March release notes (2026-03-25)