The M&A Map of AI
Premium Analysis
The 2025 M&A surge to $4.5 trillion isn’t simply a return to 2021 deal volumes; it’s a structural confirmation of the barbelled economy thesis.
A record 68 megadeals reshaped industries while total deal count fell 7% to 2016 lows.
This concentration pattern mirrors exactly what we’re seeing across the AI landscape: capital flows to scale, the middle hollows out, and infrastructure ownership becomes the new sovereignty.
The M&A data provides a real-time heat map of where value is consolidating—and media, rails, and gaming are just the surface. Underneath lies the AI transformation thesis: whoever controls infrastructure controls the future.
