Host
More than half of CEOs believe incumbency protects them from AI-native disruption. Only one-fifth of buyers agree.
Join us on Wednesday, March 25th @ 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET
In 2026, how AI risk is interpreted by financial buyers is shaping competitive dynamics, capital deployment, and operational strategy.
For software leaders navigating reinvestment, product strategy, or timing decisions, this shift creates both opportunity and uncertainty. The frameworks being applied by leading private equity firms and strategic acquirers are influencing which businesses attract strong conviction and which face deeper scrutiny.
SEG surveyed nearly 150 of the most active software investors to better understand how they are assessing risk, durability, and strategic relevance in this environment. To move beyond the data and into current investor thinking, we invited partners from JMI Equity, Waud Capital, and Five Elms to share how they are evaluating new platforms, supporting portfolio companies, and defining quality in 2026.
What We’ll Cover
- How buyers characterize the software M&A environment entering 2026
- How AI is influencing assessments of defensibility and long-term resilience
- Why competition is concentrated among certain profiles and more measured elsewhere
- Where underwriting expectations are rising and where they are stabilizing
- How founders should think about reinvestment, transformation, or long-term optionality
If you are building or leading a software company, these are the perspectives shaping the environment in which you operate.