After a subdued stretch, technology dealmaking rebounded forcefully in 2025. Global M&A reached one of the highest totals on record, technology led the recovery, and a single theme, artificial intelligence, ran through the largest deals of the year. This report sets out what happened, where, and what it means for the year ahead.
2025 was a rebound year, but an uneven one. The recovery was concentrated in large deals and in a few hot themes, and understanding its shape matters more than its headline size.
A record-adjacent year reads differently against the cycle that preceded it. Placing 2025 next to the 2021 peak and the lean years that followed shows what kind of recovery this was, and what it was not.
The year’s largest transactions tell its story: a rebound led by cloud, security, AI, and infrastructure, with a handful of megadeals setting the tone for the whole market.
The rebound was not evenly distributed. AI and cybersecurity led, software broadly was active, and fintech recovered selectively. The vertical breakdown shows where the year’s activity actually concentrated.
No theme shaped 2025 like artificial intelligence. It drove the megadeals, set the valuations, and ran, explicitly or implicitly, through a remarkable share of the year’s activity. Understanding the AI deal wave is understanding the year.
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.
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The annual review of technology dealmaking. After a subdued stretch, technology dealmaking rebounded forcefully in 2025.
The report draws on 2025 deal activity across the software, fintech, AI, and cybersecurity markets, with Windsor Drake’s outlook for 2026.
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