Aventis SaaS Index performance from Jan 2025 to Feb 2026, while the AI Index rose 95% over the same period
Median EV/Revenue multiple for public SaaS, down from a peak above 15x in 2021
Median EV/EBITDA across the Aventis SaaS Index. For the first time, this is the multiple buyers anchor on
Aventis SaaS Index return since 2015, vs NASDAQ 100's +141%. Long-term, SaaS still wins, the right SaaS
How We Defend Your Valuation
Selling a SaaS business is harder than it was in 2021. Multiples are lower, buyers are more skeptical, and every diligence call now includes "how is this business addressing AI disruption risk?". Our job is to make sure that question has a strong answer before the first call.
Defensive Positioning
We position your SaaS around the resilience dimensions buyers price: mission-critical workflows, proprietary data, senior decision-maker usage. The narrative goes from "exposed to AI" to "structurally protected", and the valuation follows.
Right-Buyer Targeting
The wrong buyer asks why your churn might rise as AI matures. The right buyer asks how your data and workflow ownership compound over time. We bring the right buyers to the table: strategic acquirers consolidating verticals, sponsors who price for resilience, not hype-driven funds chasing growth that no longer exists.
Data-Driven Valuation
Our proprietary SaaS valuation model draws on the Aventis SaaS Index (194 public companies tracked since 2015) and thousands of private transactions. We benchmark you against the right peer set, not the foundation-model headlines that distort founder expectations.
The SaaSpocalypse window will not stay open forever. We guide SaaS founders through every stage of a sale designed to defend the valuation before the next news cycle resets it again.
We score your business on the three resilience dimensions buyers use (System of Record, Non-Software Component, User & Usage), identify gaps, and reframe weaknesses as defensible moats before the data room opens.
We prepare financials, AI integration roadmap, customer cohort analysis, churn methodology, and IP position so buyers see a business already thinking about the next five years, not defending the last three.
We run a structured process bringing strategic consolidators, vertical specialists, and growth-equity sponsors to the table in parallel. Tension between buyers is the single largest driver of headline price in a soft market.
We negotiate price, earn-outs tied to durable metrics not vanity ARR, retention packages, and reps that protect against the narrative shifting again mid-process.
Selected Recent Experiences
Every transaction below closed under real market pressure. See how we positioned each business for buyers who paid for resilience, not narrative.
Reach out for customised SaaS valuation guidance
When buying, selling or merging a SaaS business, the right guidance is everything. The market is in a transition, not a collapse. A wrong call on positioning, timing, or buyer selection can leave 30 to 50 percent on the table. We bring deep SaaS sector knowledge, the Aventis SaaS Index as a benchmarking tool, and the candor to tell you when not to sell.
Valuation multiples
Where your company sits in the Aventis SaaS Index distribution, what gap exists between fundraising multiples and realistic M&A outcomes, and which resilience moves would push you into the next tier.
Timing of the deal
Whether the current cycle favours selling now, optimizing for cash flow, or going all-in on AI integration. The window for sensible valuations is finite. We help you read it.
The offer you received
Whether an inbound offer reflects the true value of your business, what the right comparable transactions look like, and how to use the AI-era narrative to your advantage at the negotiating table.
Reach out for customised SaaS valuation guidance
Schedule a complimentary, non-obligatory consultation
SaaS M&A KPIs: Calculating Churn the Right Way - Webinar Recap
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Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about SaaS M&A in the AI era and what it is like to work with Aventis Advisors.
The repricing is real. The death of SaaS is not. Public multiples have compressed and the SaaS Index has materially underperformed the AI Index over the past year. But the Aventis SaaS Index is still up 498 percent since 2015 versus the NASDAQ's 141 percent. The right SaaS companies (mission-critical, vertically focused, data-rich) still command sensible multiples. Holding and waiting is a valid strategy only if you are confident your business will score 3+ on all three resilience dimensions for the next five years. If not, the cost of waiting is rising.
Median EV/Revenue across the public Aventis SaaS Index sits around 3.5x, down from peaks above 15x in 2021. EV/EBITDA, now the multiple buyers anchor on, sits around 26.6x in aggregate, broadly in line with traditional businesses. Private M&A multiples for the right businesses run between those two anchors. The dispersion is wider than ever: resilient verticals trade at significant premiums to generic horizontal SaaS. Where you land depends entirely on positioning.
Every diligence call now includes "how is this business addressing AI disruption risk?". Buyers ask about pricing model adaptability (can you move from seats to outcomes?), replaceability (could a competitor rebuild your product in a weekend with vibe-coding tools?), and customer acquisition (are you AI-search optimised, not just SEO-optimised?). The questions are different. The preparation needs to be different. We rebuild the data room around these dimensions before going to market.
Companies that score high on the three resilience dimensions: System of Record (mission-critical workflows), Non-Software Component (proprietary data, regulatory moats, professional services driving retention), and User & Usage (senior decision-makers using the product daily for high-stakes decisions). Vertical SaaS in regulated industries (banking, compliance, energy, defense) is structurally protected. Pure horizontal SaaS with thin moats is structurally exposed. The market is paying for resilience, not growth alone.
Look for advisors with genuine SaaS-sector expertise, a published view on SaaS valuation and AI-era M&A, and senior people who will actually run your deal. Look for advisors who understand the resilience framework, can target buyers who pay for moats over growth, and have the candor to tell you when an exit is not the right call. The gap between fundraising-era valuations and realistic M&A outcomes is wider than in any other period. You need an advisor who will close that gap with you upfront.
Three Viable Paths
Sell, optimise, or reinvent. We help with all three.
Marcin and Filip laid out three paths in our SaaS Valuations 2026 webinar. They are all viable. They are all hard. Which one is right depends on where your business scores on the resilience framework and how much risk you want to keep on your balance sheet.
If your SaaS is structurally exposed to AI disruption, this is the right time to sell. The AI threat is real but not yet a confirmed problem. Multiples are sensible. Dry powder is still being deployed. Transfer the AI risk to a more diversified buyer.
Cut R&D, cut S&M, use AI as a development tool to reduce costs, extract value from the existing customer base. For mid-resilience businesses, this can outperform reinvention because it removes execution risk.
If you are mission-critical, vertically specialised, and can embed AI as differentiation rather than threat, this is potentially the best moment in your company's life. The upside is enormous. The execution risk is real.
