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. Tribune Therapeutics
Tribune Therapeutics is a preclinical biopharmaceutical company founded in 2020, dedicated to developing novel medicines targeting the CCN protein family to treat a wide range of fibrotic diseases. Their lead candidate, TRX-44, aims to inhibit pro-fibrotic signaling pathways, potentially offering therapeutic benefits across various fibrotic conditions.
- Sector: Health Care
- Industry: Biotechnology
- Last known transaction date: €23M Series A (part of €37M seed + Series A financing), announced March 2025.
- Major sponsors/backers: LifeArc Ventures led the round, with participation from HealthCap, Innovestor, Inven2, Novo Holdings, and Industrifonden
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Tribune Therapeutics raised €37M in March 2025, placing it roughly 12 months into the typical ~18–24 month A→B funding cycle. At this stage, venture-backed biotech companies often begin preparing for a follow-on round or strategic transaction as clinical milestones approach and prior capital is deployed.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
2. SplxAl
SplxAI is a cybersecurity company specializing in automated security testing for AI chatbots, ensuring they remain safe from manipulation and data breaches. The platform continuously monitors and tests chatbots for vulnerabilities such as prompt injection, context leakage, social engineering, and other advanced threats. Key features include real-time detection and mitigation strategies, multimodal pentesting capabilities (covering text, audio, and video), and comprehensive reporting tools that provide actionable insights for improving security. SplxAI's solution integrates seamlessly with existing security frameworks and platforms, making it easy to deploy and manage. By providing robust protection against a wide range of threats, SplxAI helps enterprises safeguard their AI-driven applications, maintain data integrity, and ensure compliance with industry standards. The company is committed to innovation, continuously enhancing its product to address emerging threats in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. SplxAI is trusted by forward-thinking organizations looking to proactively secure their AI assets and protect sensitive information.
- Sector: Information Technology
- Industry: IT Services
- Last known transaction date: Seed, $7M announced March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: LAUNCHub Ventures, South Central Ventures, Runtime Ventures, Rain Capital, Inovo.vc, DNV, Aviram Jenik
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: SplxAI raised a $7M Seed round in March 2025, putting it roughly 12 months into the typical ~12–18 month Seed → Series A funding cycle. At this stage, IT services startups often pursue a Series A or strategic capital as early customer traction and product-market fit milestones begin to solidify.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
3. Hook Music
Hook is a music technology platform founded in 2022 by Gaurav Sharma, a former Chief Operating Officer at JioSaavn, India's largest music streaming platform. The company is headquartered in New York City and focuses on providing AI-powered tools that enable fans to legally remix and share their favorite songs on social media. Hook's mission is to empower users to express themselves creatively through music while ensuring that artists and rights holders receive proper compensation. The platform offers intuitive music effects that allow for quick and easy remixes, fostering a new ecosystem where creativity and rights coexist. Since its inception, Hook has partnered with over 1,200 artists, including Justin Bieber, Teddy Swims, and Playboi Carti, to offer a diverse catalog of remixable tracks. The company emphasizes ethical AI practices, ensuring that algorithms are not trained on artists' music without permission. Hook launched its mobile app in September 2024, providing users with enhanced features for music discovery, remixing, and video editing. The platform also introduced a creator monetization program, allowing users to earn income based on the popularity of their creations. In March 2025, Hook secured an additional $3 million in funding, bringing its total funding to $6 million. This round included investments from Khosla Ventures, Kygo's Palm Tree Crew, and The Raine Group, alongside continued support from existing investors such as Imaginary Ventures, Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures, KSHMR, and Waverley Capital. The funds are intended to accelerate marketing efforts and strategic hiring, with a focus on user acquisition.
- Sector: Information Technology
- Industry: Application Software
- Last known funding round: Seed, $3M announced in March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Palm Tree Crew, The Raine Group, Imaginary Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Waverley Capital
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Hook is at an early scaling inflection point following its mobile app launch and growing roster of licensed artist partnerships. Consumer-facing music platforms typically pursue follow-on capital or strategic partnerships as user growth, engagement metrics, and label relationships mature, positioning Hook for a potential Series A or strategic investment tied to distribution, media, or music rights expansion rather than a purely time-based funding cycle.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
4. Allen Control Systems
Allen Control Systems is a privately held company specializing in autonomous weapon stations designed to enhance military and allied force protection. Their products, such as the Bullfrog™ series, integrate passive drone detection, autonomous fire control, and training data generation to ensure battlefield dominance.
- Sector: Industrials
- Industry: Aerospace & Defense
- Last known funding round: Series A, $30M announced March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Led by Craft Ventures with participation from Inspired Capital and Rally Ventures
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Allen Control Systems raised a $30M Series A in March 2025, positioning the company early in the typical ~18–24 month Series A → B funding cycle. For venture-backed aerospace and defense companies, this is often when follow-on capital or strategic investment is explored as programs mature and customer validation progresses.
View all private company data in Dakota Marketplace.
5. Playback
Playback is a sports streaming platform that enables users to watch live games together, interact with others, and create live podcasts, fostering a more sociable online streaming experience.
- Sector: Communication Services
- Industry: Interactive Media & Services
- Last known funding round: Series A, $22M announced in March 2025
- Major sponsors/backers: Led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from Khosla Ventures and NBA Investments
- Why timing suggests a near-term transaction: Playback raised a $22M Series A in March 2025, positioning the company early in the typical ~18–24 month Series A → B funding cycle. The company’s newly announced partnership with MLB, enabling creators to co-stream MLB.TV games, represents a meaningful distribution and content inflection point. At this stage, interactive media platforms often pursue follow-on capital or strategic partnerships with leagues, media companies, or rights holders to accelerate user growth, expand content access, and drive monetization.
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!
