You Don't Get Re-Rated “Just for AI”
This follow-up grounds my earlier “re-rating” thesis in underwriting reality, laying out three lanes for PE-owned SaaS assets (compound, consolidate, transform) and the tests that separate real AI value creation from packaging.
Why AI Value Creation and Value Capture Are Diverging
Are you building "Surface Area" AI or "System" AI? I analyze the 2025 State of AI reports from both Battery Ventures and McKinsey to show why most integration strategies fail and how the right M&A playbook can move you from “Pilot Purgatory” to durable enterprise value.
AI: Bubble, Breakout, or Both?
AI isn’t one big wave. It’s a mix of technologies maturing at different speeds, which is why the market feels both overheated and full of genuine breakthroughs.
For companies that weren’t born AI-native, the strategic question isn’t “Is AI a bubble?” It’s “Which part of AI actually moves the needle for our business?” Getting your strategy, architecture, and sourcing engine in place now is what determines whether you’re playing offense when the opportunity is right for your business.
How to Re-Rate Your Pre-AI SaaS Assets into AI Valuations
SaaS multiples have reset, but AI multiples haven’t. Many SaaS platforms bought during the 2017–2021 cycle still have strong cores. They’re just stuck in a market that is now rewarding the next technological shift of AI, and the economics it represents. This piece lays out a practical, investor-focused playbook for identifying which assets can evolve, how targeted AI-led acquisitions accelerate that shift, and why decisive product and architectural transformation is the only path to re-rating into the AI valuation cohort.
Build vs Buy: The Hybrid AI Strategy Reshaping CX
As AI reshapes customer expectations and compresses product cycles, most CX vendors are being pushed into a critical decision: build AI internally or buy it. The truth is that neither path works on its own. This post breaks down why a hybrid model is emerging as the most realistic way forward.