Verticals
Tech, SaaS & AI: defending intangible asset value before investors and acquirers
The paradox of tech organisations: high intrinsic value but often indefensible for lack of structured documentation. Analysis of certification challenges for SaaS, AI and GovTech players in Europe.
The Atomico State of European Tech 2023 records 131 billion euros invested in European tech. Yet in most transactions, the most valuable tech assets — proprietary algorithms, training data, business code — remain undocumented and therefore indefensible in due diligence.
131 Mrd EUR
VC investment tech Europe 2023 (Atomico State of European Tech 2023)
4,5x ARR
median ARR multiple SaaS B2B Europe mid-market 2024 (SaaS Capital 2024)
41 Mrd EUR
estimated European sovereign cloud market 2028 (IDC / Gartner 2024)
The AI Act creates a new value criterion
The European AI Act imposes documentation, traceability and governance requirements for high-risk AI systems. An organisation that can demonstrate AI Act compliance to an acquirer has a defensible advantage in negotiations.
SaaS metrics are no longer enough
NRR, churn, LTV/CAC have become market standards. But sophisticated acquirers now examine the robustness of the technical architecture, data sovereignty and key person dependencies — dimensions covered by CIFSO 5000 Certification.
GovTech: certification as a condition for public market access
The European GovTech market imposes increasing requirements: sovereign cloud, NIS2 compliance, interoperability. For a publisher targeting public markets, the ability to demonstrate these requirements in an independent format has become a differentiating factor in tenders.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed under Aegryn editorial responsibility. In accordance with Article 50 of the EU AI Act, we assume editorial responsibility for this content.
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