Tech M&A Weekly Roundup

This week in Tech M&A, transactions stood out across AI infrastructure, technology services, payments, cybersecurity, data-center operations and deep tech:

• ITC Infotech and Happiest Minds Technologies agreed to combine, creating an AI-first technology-services platform targeting $1bn of annual revenue by FY28, with more than 19,000 employees and 800 customers.
• CDW agreed to acquire Lovelytics for approximately $525m, adding more than 600 data and AI specialists and expanding its capabilities around Databricks, analytics and enterprise AI implementation.
• ACI Worldwide agreed to acquire Cranium Ventures, adding cloud-native, microservices-based card-switching technology to its payments infrastructure platform.
• TabaPay announced plans to acquire Transact Bank, bringing banking infrastructure, compliance capabilities and payment rails under the same fintech platform, subject to regulatory approval.
• Accrual agreed to acquire Puzzle’s accounting-firm business, including its AI-native general ledger and month-end-close technology.
• Salute agreed to acquire T5 Operations, adding mission-critical facilities management and operational capabilities for hyperscale, wholesale and AI/HPC data centers.
• Kustom Entertainment agreed to acquire Tickets For Less for $112m plus $35m of debt repayment, combining ticketing software, ecommerce and inventory distribution with a broader live-events platform.
• GoPro entered into a definitive merger agreement with Starman Optical, combining imaging IP with US-manufactured optical transceivers and creating exposure to AI data centers, defense, robotics and aerospace.
• NVIDIA agreed to acquire Hugging Face for approximately $12.9bn, bringing one of the AI ecosystem’s most important open model and developer platforms closer to the world’s leading AI compute provider.
• NetSPI and Synack agreed to merge, creating a larger offensive cybersecurity platform combining penetration-testing expertise, continuous security validation and agentic AI.
• PlusAI entered into a SPAC combination at an approximately $800m pre-money equity value, providing capital to commercialize its Level 4 autonomous-trucking software.
• Vertiv agreed to acquire UtilityInnovation Group for $1.45bn upfront plus up to $1.15bn in earnout, adding microgrid controls and behind-the-meter power technology for AI data centers.
• CollPlant agreed to acquire LightSolver, adding laser-based photonic computing technology designed for high-performance AI, simulation and optimization workloads.
• Enovis submitted a binding offer to acquire eCential Robotics for €155m upfront plus up to €35m in contingent consideration, expanding further into surgical robotics and computer-assisted surgery.
• Aon agreed to acquire USI Insurance Services for $17bn, creating a substantially larger US middle-market insurance brokerage and advisory platform.
• ONEOK agreed to acquire Brazos Midstream’s Permian assets for $4.425bn, expanding its natural-gas gathering and processing infrastructure.
• SLB agreed to acquire Kelvion for approximately $4.1bn including assumed debt, adding thermal-management technology for data centers as cooling becomes a critical constraint on AI compute.
• Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875bn, adding an antibody-engineering platform focused on precision immunology.

What matters: AI-related M&A is increasingly moving beyond applications. Buyers are acquiring the developer platforms, specialist talent, power infrastructure, cooling, optical networking and operational capabilities required to build and run AI at scale.

For CEOs, founders and investors, the signal is increasingly clear: strategic value is concentrating around businesses that control critical layers of the AI and enterprise technology stack — whether through proprietary technology, scarce expertise, embedded workflows or infrastructure.