Digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence are no longer emerging investment themes. They are reshaping how capital is deployed across private equity, growth equity, and strategic M&A.
Deal sizes are growing, platforms are consolidating, and competition for scaled, data-rich assets is intensifying. As AI adoption accelerates, investors are chasing infrastructure and software that sit at the center of long-term value creation.
Below are the top M&A and investment trends in digital infrastructure and AI shaping deal activity as we head into 2026, and what they signal about where capital is moving next.
Want visibility into the investors, platforms, and allocators driving these trends? Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
Why Digital Infrastructure & AI M&A Matters Right Now
AI is pulling capital across the entire technology stack, from data centers and energy infrastructure to enterprise software and analytics platforms. Simultaneously investors are facing greater complexity: larger deal sizes, fewer scaled assets, and increasing overlap between infrastructure, private equity, and growth strategies.
Tracking these trends requires more than headlines. It requires connected intelligence across deals, companies, sponsors, and allocators… which is where most teams still fall behind.
1. Data Centers Are Becoming Core AI Infrastructure Assets
The roughly $40 billion sale of Aligned Data Centers marked a defining moment for digital infrastructure M&A. Once viewed primarily as real estate, data centers are now recognized as mission-critical infrastructure supporting AI workloads at scale.
As demand for compute power and energy capacity grows, data centers are increasingly positioned at the intersection of infrastructure, technology, and long-duration capital. Long-term contracts and predictable cash flows are attracting both infrastructure and private equity investors, blurring traditional category lines.
See which sponsors and allocators are active in digital infrastructure with Dakota Marketplace.
2. Recurring-Revenue Software Continues to Drive Take-Private Activity
The $2.2 billion take-private of Jamf Holding reinforced a durable M&A theme: high-quality, subscription-based enterprise software remains in strong demand.
As AI reshapes IT environments, platforms that manage devices, security, and distributed workforces are becoming even more embedded in enterprise operations. Predictable recurring revenue and sticky customer relationships continue to support sponsor-backed take-privates.
Track software take-privates and buyer activity across sectors using Dakota Marketplace.
3. AI Platforms Are Absorbing Record Levels of Capital
AI deal activity in 2025 wasn’t limited to M&A. xAI’s $7.5 billion equity raise highlighted sustained investor appetite for large-scale AI platforms with ambitious infrastructure and compute requirements.
Rather than avoiding capital intensity, investors are increasingly viewing scale and funding depth as strategic advantages. This concentration of capital is also driving downstream demand for data centers, energy infrastructure, and cloud capacity.
Monitor AI financings and strategic investor participation with Dakota Marketplace.
4. AI-Native Software Is Becoming an Earlier Acquisition Target
Poolside’s $2 billion financing reflects a growing shift toward AI-native software platforms designed specifically for developers and enterprise teams.
These platforms focus on productivity, automation, and deployment at scale, aligning naturally with recurring revenue models. As enterprise adoption accelerates, both strategic buyers and sponsors are moving earlier to secure exposure to AI-enabled software platforms.
Identify emerging AI software platforms and investor interest using Dakota Marketplace.
5. Data Platforms Are Being Valued Like Infrastructure
Transactions involving With Intelligence ($1.8B) and Calastone ($1.03B) highlight how data and analytics platforms serving financial markets are increasingly viewed as infrastructure assets.
Deeply embedded in daily workflows, these platforms benefit from high switching costs and long-term relevance. While often operating behind the scenes, they play a critical role in how capital markets function.
Dakota Marketplace helps you track data, software, and digital infrastructure platforms across public and private markets.
Want to Track the Deals and Investors Behind These Trends?
Dakota Marketplace gives you visibility into M&A activity, financing rounds, sponsor behavior, and allocator exposure across AI and digital infrastructure.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
Why These M&A Trends Matter Heading Into 2026
What’s changing isn’t just deal volume, it’s deal composition. Infrastructure and technology are converging, AI is pulling capital across every layer of the stack, and scaled assets are becoming harder to find.
Legacy research methods struggle to keep pace with fewer but larger transactions, cross-strategy investor participation, and rapid shifts in allocator exposure. Teams that can connect deals, companies, and investors in one place will be better positioned as competition intensifies.
How Dakota Marketplace Helps You Track Digital Infrastructure & AI M&A
Dakota Marketplace gives investors, deal teams, and sales professionals a centralized view of:
- M&A and financing activity across AI and digital infrastructure
- Active buyers, sellers, and sponsors
- Allocator exposure to tech-enabled infrastructure
- Firm-level intelligence across private companies, RIAs, family offices, and institutions
It’s built to help teams identify trends earlier, prepare better conversations, and stay ahead of where capital is moving.
Ready to track these trends with real data? Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
