m&a
(7)
Upland Software
The Austin roll-up that bought its way to two dozen software products now wants to be the trusted knowledge layer underneath every enterprise AI agent.
DiligenceSquared
DiligenceSquared is a New York AI company that automates commercial due diligence for investors. Its AI agents run expert interviews with customers, competitors, and market specialists, then synthesize the findings into interactive reports where every claim links back to a source transcript. Founded by two ex-Blackstone and ex-BCG private equity operators plus a former Google engineer, it delivers consulting-grade market research for a fraction of the $500K-$1M that firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG typically charge.
Axial
Axial is a private deal network for the North American lower middle market, connecting business owners, M&A advisors, private equity firms, lenders and corporate acquirers to source, market and close transactions confidentially. Founded in 2010 by Peter Lehrman, the platform uses matching algorithms and CRM-style tools to privately introduce sell-side deals to relevant buyers, and its 20,000+ members have transacted more than $25 billion across 2,000+ closed deals.
Opportunity Network
Opportunity Network is a members-only, invitation-based B2B platform that connects vetted CEOs, investors and dealmakers across borders so they can raise capital, buy and sell companies, and originate proprietary deal flow. Founded in 2014 by Brian Pallas out of a Columbia Business School side project, it pairs matching algorithms with a human concierge service and screens members through banking partners like UBS. The network reports 52,000+ members across 130+ countries and roughly $530 billion in transaction flow.
FounderNest
FounderNest is an AI-native market intelligence platform that helps innovation teams at large corporations, CVCs, R&D, M&A and strategy groups discover, evaluate and track emerging startups, technologies and trends. Its AI Market Intelligence Analyst (AMIA) scans 50M+ companies, 160M+ patents and billions of data points to surface opportunities faster than traditional research.
Baton
Baton is a New York-based online marketplace that helps owners sell their small businesses and helps buyers acquire them. It replaces the slow, opaque world of traditional business brokers with fast data-driven valuations, confidential listings, digital data rooms, and guided M&A support - achieving a roughly 70% close rate at about half the cost of conventional brokers.
Finalis
Finalis is a San Francisco-based fintech building the operating system for private capital markets. It pairs a registered broker-dealer with software that handles compliance, deal management, and a global network of bankers - letting independent dealmakers run M&A, capital raises, and private placements without standing up their own back office.