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. Nayla Finance
Nayla Finance is a financial services company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, specializing in providing Sharia-compliant digital financing solutions to micro-enterprises. Founded by Khaled Naili and Shaqran AlYahya, the company offers financing up to SAR 100,000 through a fully digital process tailored for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Their mission is to bridge the financing gap for SMEs by offering accessible, fair, and tailored credit solutions, enabling these businesses to contribute significantly to the economic development of Saudi Arabia. The company emphasizes innovation, transparency, empathy, efficiency, leadership, and partnership in its operations. Nayla Finance is licensed under the Saudi Central Bank and operates in compliance with all Sharia principles.
- Sector: Financials
- Industry: Financial Services
- Last known transaction date: Seed, $4M announced in March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Sanabil Venture Studio
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Nayla Finance’s March 2025 seed round places the company in the typical 12–18 month seed-to-Series A window, when early-stage financial services platforms often return to market to support product development and initial customer scaling. As early traction becomes clearer, this timing commonly precedes a Series A raise or a strategic minority investment.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
2. Augustine Therapeutics
Augustine Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative medicines targeting neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases. Their lead program, AGT-100216, is a selective HDAC6 inhibitor currently in Phase I clinical trials for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
- Sector: Health Care
- Industry: Biotechnology
- Last known transaction date: Series A, EUR 78 million / USD 85 million announced March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Co-led by Novo Holdings and Jeito Capital, supported by Asabys Partners, Eli Lilly and Company, AdBio Partners, V-Bio Ventures, PMV, VIB, Gemma Frisius Fund, the US-based Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Research Foundation, and Newton Biocapital
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Augustine Therapeutics’ March 2025 Series A places the company within the typical 12–24 month post–Series A window in biotech, when programs advance toward key preclinical or early clinical milestones. As those milestones approach, companies at this stage often pursue a Series B, strategic partnership, or follow-on financing to support development and scale.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
3. Firefly Diamonds
Firefly Diamonds is a Mumbai-based jewelry retailer specializing in lab-grown diamond jewelry. Founded in 2023 by Aayush Bhansali and Adit Bhansali, the company aims to democratize access to diamonds and promote a sustainable future. Their product offerings include a range of lab-grown diamond jewelry pieces, catering to various customer preferences. The company operates primarily in the Indian market, focusing on providing high-quality, ethically sourced diamond jewelry.
- Sector: Consumer Discretionary
- Industry: Textiles & Apparel & Luxury Goods
- Last known funding round: Seed, $3M announced in March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: WestBridge Capital
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Firefly Diamonds’ March 2025 seed round places the company in the typical 12–18 month seed-to-Series A window, when early-stage consumer and luxury brands often return to market to fund brand buildout and initial scaling. As early customer traction and distribution take shape, this timing commonly precedes a Series A raise or strategic investment.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
4. Styx Intelligence
Styx Intelligence is a Canadian company specializing in digital risk protection, founded in 2019 by Karim Ladha and Santosh Nair. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and offers a suite of AI-powered solutions designed to safeguard businesses against cyber threats, including brand impersonation, phishing scams, and data leaks. Their platform provides services such as brand monitoring, executive protection, social and news monitoring, third-party vendor risk assessment, takedown services, attack surface management, data leakage and dark web monitoring, threat intelligence, and risk scorecards. Styx Intelligence aims to help organizations protect their brand reputation, trust, and identity from cyber threats.
- Sector: Information Technology
- Industry: IT Services
- Last known funding round: Seed, $2.7M announced March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Business Development Bank of Canada (Lead Investor), Framework Venture Partners, Top Down Ventures, Sprout Fund
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Styx Intelligence’s March 2025 seed round places the company squarely in the typical 12–18 month seed-to-Series A window, when IT services and data-driven platforms often return to market to fund customer acquisition and product expansion. As early pilots and revenue traction develop, this timing commonly precedes a Series A raise or strategic investment.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
5. Lumber
Lumber is a technology company specializing in providing automated payroll, time-tracking, accounts payable, compliance, and onboarding solutions tailored for the construction industry. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Lumber aims to streamline administrative processes within the construction sector, enhancing operational efficiency and ensuring compliance with industry standards. The company's mission is to leverage technology to simplify complex processes in the construction sector, providing a unified platform that addresses multiple operational needs.
- Sector: Information Technology
- Industry: Vertical SaaS
- Last known funding round: Series A, $15.5M announced in March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Foundation Capital, Firsthand Capital, Tishman Speyer, and others
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Lumber’s March 2025 Series A places the company in the typical 12–18 month post–Series A window, when venture-backed financial services platforms often begin planning their next capital raise. As growth initiatives funded by the Series A are deployed, this timing commonly precedes a Series B, strategic minority investment, or broader partnership transaction.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
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.
To explore more companies likely to transact, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace!
