Tech, SaaS & AI: defending intangible asset value before investors and acquirers

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.

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.