After years of explosive growth, the tech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market has cooled – but not in the way many expected.
The slowdown hasn’t solely been driven by macro headwinds or interest rates; it’s structural. Governance and regulation have increasingly moved to the deal table, influencing which transactions go ahead, how fast, and at what price.
For marketing technology, analytics, and AI-native platforms, where machine learning and data infrastructure sit at the core of value creation, regulatory readiness is increasingly strategic.
AI: Features and risk factors
The introduction of the EU AI Act, along with parallel frameworks in the UK, is changing how acquirers assess risk, and filter deals. For platforms using AI to drive targeting, segmentation, or content generation, buyers want assurance beyond slick product demos: Can the model’s behaviour be explained? Is it classed as ‘high-risk’? What future obligations might apply?…
