Jefferies banker sees tech M&A shifting from software to AI

Technology mergers and acquisitions are shifting away from traditional software and toward AI-enabled and agentic AI businesses, according to Jason Greenberg, a senior technology banker at Jefferies Financial Group.

Software once made up about half of the technology deal environment, Greenberg said on Bloomberg Deals. Over the past year, companies have increasingly used acquisitions to fill technology gaps and secure talent.

SpaceX’s reported $60 billion acquisition of Cursor gave its xAI business a coding tool. Anthropic is also reportedly in talks to buy Decart AI for about $6 billion; the startup develops software designed to make AI training and operation more efficient.

Greenberg said enterprise AI companies such as Harvey AI and Sierra AI could become acquisition targets. Both have reportedly been valued above $15 billion, making deals of that size more likely to require public-company equity as acquisition currency.