Reports: A Comprehensive Insight into our Sectors

Our latest Artificial Intelligence M&A report reveals that fundraising for AI companies is now on the rise after a period of diminished deal volumes.

The report shows that, following an initial boom in fundraising which accompanied the first wave of excitement around AI in 2021 and 2022, the flow of investor capital into the sector slowed, only to pick up again in 1H2024. This trajectory can be seen both on an overall global level and in specific regions.

Our latest Enterprise Software M&A report reveals that 892 deals took place in 1H2024. This was only fractionally less than what was seen in the previous reporting period and indicates that the Enterprise Software sector has retained momentum.

The sector maintained momentum, with Enterprise Software tools playing increasingly vital roles in allowing businesses to meeting mission-critical objectives and realize efficiencies.

Our latest Autotech & Mobility M&A report reveals that 38 deals took place in 1H2024. This is the second consecutive decline in half-year deal numbers since the 77 transactions recorded in 1H2023, which was the second-highest volume on record.

The shift in activity reflects a general caution among investors and acquirers, with macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures instilling a more risk-averse approach. However, soaring global sales of electric vehicles, which reached a record-high in Q2 2024, together with the concurrent demand for next-gen automotive technologies such as ADAS and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, indicate that the Autotech M&A market is poised for an upwards trajectory.

Our latest IT & Business Services M&A report reveals that the blistering activity seen in the sector in recent years has slowed, with 558 deals recorded within the sector in 1H2024. This is notably lower than what was recorded for 2H2023, and comes after a two-year period where IT & Business Services companies were acquired in record-breaking numbers.

While the subdued momentum can largely be attributed to continuing inflationary and geopolitical pressures impacting the tech industry as a whole, it may also represent a normalisation in deal activity following the boom which accompanied the worldwide digitalisation of workplaces – a phenomenon accelerated by the pandemic.

Our latest Digital Commerce M&A report reveals that 1,089 deals were struck in the sector in 1H2024, compared to the 1,063 deals recorded in the previous six-month period. The modest uptick in M&A activity reflects a degree of market recovery following the post-pandemic decline. However, macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tumult continue to have an impact, as can be seen in a fall in the trailing 30-month median revenue multiple, which has dropped for the second six-month period in a row.

Enterprises are digitising more products, processes and services than ever before. At the same time, they are migrating them to the cloud for efficiency, scalability and corporate agility. These trends are driving growth across all segments of the IT Services sector, keeping firms with relevant expertise in hot demand.

The sector experienced a decline in deal numbers throughout 2023. Relative valuation multiples also showed a downward trajectory. However, M&A volumes have continued to track higher than in the years preceding the pandemic, and there has been increased deal activity in 1Q2024.

M&A in the Enterprise Software sector has remained remarkably robust. In fact, in terms of M&A volume, the sector saw the third highest number of M&A deals in 1H2023. 

Two years on from the largest-ever number of deals recorded in a six-month period, we’re continuing to see strong M&A momentum within the automotive sector. Challenges abound for legacy OEMs, however.

Organisations continue to face the challenge of finding, keeping and developing new hires to their full potential. Combined with AI- and technology-based advances, these motivations are driving the HRTech market. As a result, what used to be a slow-moving corporate technology space a decade ago is now a multi-billion-dollar market of HR cloud solutions to address the needs for the future of work.

The global real estate technology market, or “Proptech”, is set to thrive in the coming months.

The fintech industry continues to grow and break records. Changes are being accelerated by the shift away from cash, the boom in electronic payment transactions, and the application of innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

An increasing number of software and services firms now specialise in facilitating ESG reporting capabilities. Over the past five years, they have garnered interest as M&A targets. 

There is growing appetite to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital solutions to solve many of medicine's pressing problems. This was been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Enterprises have been forced to rapidly digitise their products, processes and services. Lockdown measures around the world have accelerated the move to digital. Working from home has required better IT capabilities, whether in-house or outsourced. This has generated a need for reinforced cybersecurity: while the world is focused on the health and economic threats posed by Covid, cyber criminals are undoubtedly capitalising on this crisis. 

Technological advancements have radically transformed the ways in which insurance is offered, and the software used by insurers to adequately deliver insurance products. 

Artificial intelligence continues to sweep through all industries horizontally, changing software and technological processes as we know them. AI is the key source of transformation and disruption used by many corporations to stay afloat and remain competitive –by virtue of assistance, augmentation and automation it can contribute to various processes.

Since the last edition of Hampleton’s AR/VR report, the industry has kept making significant strides, with increasing amounts of funding flowing to later-stage companies in particular to accelerate the development of AR/VR technology in a wide variety of applications, ranging from retail to industrial manufacturing and from healthcare to energy and power.