| The technology industry is Pac-Man. Big Tech navigates a maze of hardware, software, and talent, trying to build products that change the world, or just make a lot of money, while avoiding the ghosts — regulation, product obsolescence, or consumer backlash — that could take them down. Along the way they swallow a lot of startups, little pills and pockets of growth that could become a core offering of their platform, like Meta’s 2012 deal for Instagram, or Google’s YouTube tie-up from 2006. And in 2025, with AI shaking the foundations of almost every tech-adjacent vertical and a new administration in the White House that might be more acquisition-friendly, the giants are keen to strike some deals. However, it’s not just the biggest names like the aforementioned Google (which recently inked the biggest deal in its history, acquiring Wiz for a whopping $32 billion), or Meta (which reportedly had an $800 million offer for a Korean AI infrastructure company rejected earlier this week) that are looking to take over promising startups. Per data compiled by CB Insights, 11 venture-backed startups were acquired for more than $1 billion in Q1 2025, for a total value of $54.5 billion — the largest quarterly sum on record, driven by Google’s Wiz deal. In the same period last year, only two startups were bought for more than $1 billion. |
| While no one can say for certain whether the blockbuster first quarter in 2025 will herald a new age of acquisitions, there’s a few good reasons to think that the boom could continue. Whether it’s a potentially friendlier FTC chair, entrepreneurs being more open to the idea of selling up to corporate behemoths, or how the classic “build or buy” conundrum seems to have shifted for many purse string holders in the age of AI, the Big Deal era might just be getting started. |
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