Executives, investors and bankers gathering in San Francisco this week may be buzzing over the possibility that 2025 could set a record for technology dealmaking, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
That optimism marks a sharp turnaround from just months ago, when President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement rattled markets and stoked recession fears. Now, the focus has shifted to growth opportunities, consolidation and the artificial intelligence race.
The backdrop is Goldman Sachs’ annual Communacopia & Technology Conference, opening Monday at the Palace Hotel. The event serves as a platform for companies to highlight strategy, showcase recent acquisitions and court support for future transactions.
Roughly 260 firms are on the roster, including Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), fresh from its $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI; Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), which struck its largest deal since 2020 with Informatica in May; and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which just last week revealed a multimillion-dollar purchase of startup Solver.
So far in 2025, technology deals total about $645 billion, according to Bloomberg data, the highest pace since 2021’s $986 billion full-year haul. Broader communications and media transactions push the tally to $822 billion. Big-ticket moves fueling momentum include Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk Software, Thoma Bravo’s $12.3 billion take-private of Dayforce, and CommScope’s $10.5 billion divestiture to Amphenol.
AI is at the heart of the M&A surge. With data center spending soaring, major software players are expected to pursue acquisitions to protect existing revenue models from disruption.
Goldman Sachs has told clients that the wave of dealmaking could stretch beyond tech. The bank projects global M&A could reach $3.9 trillion in 2026, surpassing the $3.6 trillion record set in 2021, Bloomberg News reported.