The AI M&A Index

What this report finds

Artificial intelligence was the most active and most richly valued corner of the M&A market in 2025. Deal volume and valuations both hit records, but a large share of the activity took a form conventional acquisition data does not capture, which means the official numbers, striking as they are, understate what actually happened.

AI deal activity did not just grow in 2025; it accelerated to a pace without precedent, with quarterly volumes roughly double the historical norm and a year-over-year jump that outran the broader M&A recovery.

The pace of AI deals, not just their number, tells the story. Quarterly volumes have stepped up to roughly double the historical norm, and the trajectory points up, marking a structural shift rather than a cyclical bump.

AI commands the highest multiples in the market, by a wide margin, and they are set by a different logic than other software. Understanding what drives AI valuations is essential to reading the deals.

The year’s AI deals spanned three forms: outright acquisitions, talent-and-licensing deals, and infrastructure purchases. Together they map where the value and the strategic energy concentrated.

AI M&A multiples do not form in isolation. They sit atop a venture financing market where AI valuations have run to historic extremes, and that private backdrop both fuels and complicates the deal market.

Windsor Drake’s research desk compiled this report from transaction data, public filings, and the firm’s sell-side advisory work in software, fintech, AI, and cybersecurity. It is intended to inform founders, owners, and acquirers evaluating a transaction, and does not constitute investment advice.