Tracking when private companies are nearing a sale, recap, or financing event has always been a guessing game. With thousands of sponsor-backed firms spread across sectors and geographies, most deal teams are forced to react after the market moves.
Investors, bankers, and service providers struggle to know which private companies are gearing up for a transaction or capital raise. Signals are scattered, opaque, and nearly impossible to track across thousands of PE- and VC-backed businesses.
Dakota centralizes those signals (holding periods, funding rounds, platform acquisition dates, ownership changes, and exit timing patterns) into one predictive transaction-readiness tool. Instead of waiting for headlines, users can see which companies are showing the strongest likelihood of pursuing a sale, recapitalization, or new financing before the market knows.
Below is today’s list of five PE- or VC-backed companies that, based on their hold period, financing stage, and last transaction date, appear to be credible candidates for a sale or next-round raise.
Nothing is guaranteed, but these companies fall squarely within the timing windows where sponsors typically look to generate liquidity or secure additional capital.
Sourced from Dakota Sponsor Backed Companies.
1. CallRail
CallRail is a leading provider of call tracking and analytics solutions, enabling businesses to monitor and optimize their marketing campaigns by analyzing phone calls, forms, and chats. Their platform offers insights into which marketing efforts drive the most valuable leads, helping clients enhance ROI and customer engagement.
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Sector: Information Technology
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Industry: Software
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Last known transaction date: May 2021, Acquisition of PhoneWagon
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Major sponsors/backers: Sageview Capital
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Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: As of 2025, CallRail is ~4.5 years post-majority investment, aligning with the typical ~4-year PE hold period for vertical SaaS and marketing technology platforms. In IT-enabled marketing and analytics software, this stage often prompts sponsors to pursue a sale, recapitalization, or sponsor-to-sponsor transaction to realize value after scaling ARR and expanding enterprise adoption.
2. Everbridge
Everbridge is a global software company specializing in critical event management and enterprise safety applications. Their platform enables organizations to monitor, manage, and respond to critical events, ensuring the safety of people and the continuity of operations. Everbridge serves a diverse clientele, including businesses, government agencies, and healthcare institutions, providing solutions for crisis communication, business continuity, and operational resilience.
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Sector: Information Technology
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Industry: Custom Enterprise
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Last known transaction date: July 2024 — taken private by Thoma Bravo
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Major sponsors/backers: Thoma Bravo
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Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Everbridge is moving into the mid-phase of its private ownership cycle following its 2022 take-private transaction. Large-cap IT and enterprise software platforms commonly pursue minority sales, carve-outs, or recapitalizations between years 3–4 post-acquisition, particularly for mission-critical SaaS businesses with sticky enterprise customers and predictable cash flows.
3. Aircall
Aircall is a cloud-based customer communication and engagement platform designed for sales and support teams. It integrates voice, SMS, and WhatsApp into a unified interface, offering features like AI-powered conversation intelligence, real-time coaching, and seamless integrations with over 100 business tools. Serving over 21,000 customers across more than 110 countries, Aircall aims to enhance customer interactions and team productivity.
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Sector: Information Technology
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Industry: Custom Enterprise
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Last known funding round: Series D, $120M, announced in June 2021
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Major sponsors/backers: Goldman Sachs Growth, DTCP, Balderton Capital
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Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Late-stage IT and enterprise SaaS platforms typically reach a strategic or liquidity inflection point within ~24 months of their last major primary funding round. As of late 2025, Aircall is ~4+ years post–Series D (June 2021), placing it well beyond the typical late-stage funding cycle. At this stage, scaled communications software companies more commonly pursue strategic acquisitions, growth equity or PE investments, recapitalizations, or secondary liquidity events rather than additional venture rounds.
4. Dialpad
Dialpad is an AI-powered cloud communications platform that transforms conversations into opportunities, offering voice, video, messaging, and conferencing solutions. It serves businesses of all sizes, providing tools for seamless communication and collaboration.
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Major sponsors/backers: ICONIQ Growth, GV, Andreessen Horowitz.
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Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Series F and late-stage Information Technology platforms typically reach a strategic inflection point ~24 months after their most recent primary capital raise. As of late 2025, Dialpad is ~3 years post–Series F extension (December 2022), placing it beyond the standard late-stage funding window. At this stage, scaled enterprise communications platforms more commonly pursue strategic acquisitions, growth equity investments, secondary liquidity, or recapitalizations rather than another traditional venture round.
5. Read AI
Read AI is a productivity-focused artificial intelligence company that enhances workflows by providing meeting analytics, scheduling, and summaries across messages and emails. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Read AI offers AI-generated summaries, known as 'Readouts', for email and messaging platforms like Gmail, Outlook, Teams, and Slack, streamlining communication. The company also summarizes video calls across various platforms, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, making it versatile for different meeting types.
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Major sponsors/backers: Led by Smash Capital, with participation from Madrona Venture Group and Goodwater Capital.
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Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Series B → C transitions typically occur around ~18 months for enterprise software and communications platforms. As of late 2025, Read AI is approximately ~12–14 months post-Series B, placing it within the established window when companies begin preparing for a Series C raise, evaluating strategic minority investments, or attracting acquisition interest from larger collaboration and productivity platforms.
Use Dakota’s Sponsor Backed Company Intelligence to Spot Likely Exits Before the Market Does
Dakota’s private company data gives you a real-time view into thousands of sponsor-backed companies, including platform acquisition dates, funding rounds, parent sponsors, add-on activity, and sector categorization.
Instead of guessing where companies are in their lifecycle, you can instantly identify which ones are approaching the typical timing windows for a sale or recap.
Fully integrated into Dakota Marketplace, this dataset enables deal sourcers, investor relations teams, and allocators to anticipate transactions, build targeted outreach lists, and stay ahead of market announcements, every single day.
