If there’s a thematic singularity that has dominated the venture capital space across the last five years, it’s the lack of liquidity. Funds that deployed across the roaring ‘20’s (2020/2021) have been attempting to re-balance their portfolios ever since, to make up for the insanity of valuations and the ‘efficiency’ hangover that followed. When we started In Revenue in 2023, those recent market conditions weren’t central to our thesis, but they also didn’t hurt. To be deploying capital for the first time during a new dawn of sober valuations and bootstrap-like cash management seemed like the perfect time to enter the space. The downside of course was the lack of appetite, it seemed, around liquidity. A combination of governmental headwinds, upside-down cap tables, and public market volatility had taken even the most reliable paths for venture startups seemingly off the table. The saving grace of course, seemed to be the AI tidal wave, but no one knew exactly when that wave would begin to crash, and with it, the floodgates of liquidity. It may be too soon to call it a floodgate exactly, but there’s certainly moisture in the air.
So far in 2025, the B2B SaaS technology sector has experienced a notable uptick of both M&A and IPOs, driven by long-dormant appetites for strategic consolidation, technological innovation, and (currently) favorable market conditions. Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Wiz last month stood out as a landmark deal. Wiz had reached $350 million in ARR across a brisk four year run and had advertised a target of $1 billion by year-end. If that doesn’t harken back to the good ole’ days, the 64x multiple they were acquired for certainly does. That followed ServiceNow’s $2.9 billion purchase of Moveworks, a move designed to accelerate AI-driven automation into its platform. Then there’s German VC Munich Re’s $2.6 billion acquisition of NextInsurance to expand its digital insurance footprint. SoftBank’s $6.5 billion buy of Ampere Computing and finally, CoreWeave’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Weights & Biases, another AI motivated grab. Little fish, it seems, have come off the high cholesterol warning list, and big fish are once again free to eat them; restoring order to the SaaS pond. Of course as we all know, if you’re an AI, cybersecurity, or analytics little fish, and you can swim fast, you damn delicious.
Similarly, IPO activity has a heartbeat! In 2024, U.S. IPOs rose nearly 29% by November, outperforming the S&P 500’s 26% gain. This has continued into 2025, with CoreWeave closing the largest IPO since 2021 in March. They joined Klarna, StubHub, and eToro to upend what had been an abysmal three year drought. Databricks and its $40+ billion dollar valuation, seems likely to be the next domino to fall later this year.
The third leg of the stool, PE-backed acquisition deals are projected to grow 16% this year, propped up by $2.6 trillion in dry powder. At this point, it has to go somewhere, right? That ‘somewhere’ seems to be companies prioritizing both revenue growth and operational efficiency, with niche expertise in AI, cloud, and vertical-specific solutions. Fintech and healthtech are extremely hot right now, and we believe they will continue to be.
A strong correlator seems to be the notable rise in PARTNERSHIP activity (man, I wish someone would write a book on the power of partnerships!). Deloitte’s recent 2025 M&A Trends Survey uncovered that 49% of tech leaders are engaging in joint ventures or partnerships, signaling what we already knew to be true – orgs that shift toward collaborative deal structures win more, mitigate risks, and address complex enterprise needs. Like the need to design your exit.
Under all of this let’s not forget, is the need to build durable, predictably performing companies. The lack of correlation between price and value is what put liquidity on ice for a half-decade in the first place. So, if we can just keep one eye on the fundamentals, and the U.S. economy doesn’t kick everyone squarely in the face, this could just be the beginning of parallel revolutions – technological and financial. Frankly, with what I hear daily from investors, executives, and technologists alike – if there’s one thing that can tame even the most unpredictable market volatility, it just may be the juggernaut of AI.
All signs point to ‘maybe’.
