The growth of mergers and acquisitions of AI-driven technology companies in 2024 is expected to continue in 2025.  

AI M&A deals this year are expected to fuel corporate strategy, according to CB Insights’ “The Tech Trends 2025 Report.” The report, based on the business analytics provider’s financing and acquisition data, was released in November. 

In 2024, AI’s share of corporate tech M&A reached 7.2%, up from 3.5% in 2020, 4.2% in 2021, 4% in 2022 and 6.9% in 2023, according to the report.  

In 2023 and 2024, tech giants including Nvidia, Snowflake, Accenture and Databricks led the AI acquisition game, according to CB Insights. 

The tech giants closed the following deals in 2024: 

• Nvidia acquired OmniML, Run:ai, Deci and OctoAI; 

• Snowflake acquired Neeva, Myst, TruEra AI and Sisu; 

• Accenture acquired Nextira, Jixie, Flutura and Ocelot; and 

• Databricks acquired MosaicML, Einblick, Okera and Rubicon.  

Multiple AI-driven tech acquisitions were announced last month. 

Visa acquires AI payments company Featurespace

Payments giant Visa acquired real-time AI-driven payments fraud-fighting service provider Featurespace for an undisclosed sum, according to a Dec. 19 release from Visa. 

Through the acquisition, Visa aims to bolster its fraud detection capabilities without adding friction to payments flow, according to the release. 

“Over the coming months, Featurespace’s product portfolio will be incorporated into Visa’s existing offering, expanding the available range of fraud prevention solutions and use cases,” Antony Cahill, president of value-added services at Visa, said in the release. 

Featurespace’ fraud prevention technology is used by HSBC, NatWest, Worldpay, Danske Bank and more, according to the company. 

LexisNexis Risk Solutions to acquire IDVerse

Data and analytics platform provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced an agreement to acquire AI-powered automated document authentication and fraud detection solutions provider IDVerse on Dec. 10. The transaction cost was not disclosed. 

“Combining IDVerse’s advanced AI-powered technology with our existing complementary financial crime compliance and identity offerings represents a natural evolution in addressing AI-generated fraud,” Kimberly Sutherland, vice president of fraud and identity strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, told Bank Automation News.  

With the acquisition, she said, LexisNexis will be able to offer improvements in: 

• Document authentication; 

• Identify verification; and 

• Compliance solutions. 

For past integrations, LexisNexis has “established a fluid and effective integration process,” Sutherland said, noting that the strategy “will expedite delivery of IDVerse’s technology to the market within our risk orchestration platforms.” 

IDVerse will be deployed in the LexisNexis Dynamic Decision Platform, which uses digital identity intelligence, machine learning and external data to improve decisioning, and LexisNexis RiskNarrative, which offers a holistic view of fraud detection, financial crime prevention and compliance and risk management. 

OneEthos acquires AI company ToolCharm

OneEthos, the fintech arm of St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Climate First Bank, acquired AI solutions provider ToolCharm for an undisclosed amount, according to an OneEthos Dec. 4 release. 

ToolCharm’s primary product is its Actions API, which enables AI assistants to integrate with multiple AI models via APIs, a OneEthos spokesperson told BAN. ToolCharm also offers Farro, an AI-powered search engine that instantly creates video content to answer questions, enabling delivery of financial education and support at scale. 

“The plan is to leverage Actions API and Farro to accelerate the development of AI agents,” the spokesperson said. “The AI agents will be deployed initially to streamline the solar lending process with a strong focus on consumer protection.” 

Climate First Bank plans to expand the use of AI agents to other product lines over time and absorb ToolCharm in the coming quarters, the spokesperson said. 

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