在2026年的前五个月中，私募股权软体收购的价值暴跌至500亿美元（$50bn），与去年同期记录的880亿美元（$88bn）相比下降了43.18%。这一低迷状态标志著自2020年大流行以来该期间的最低交易量。如果目前的趋势在整个2026年持续下去，这将是自2018年以来软体交易最疲软的一年，与去年软体收购达到11年高点的2900亿美元（$290bn）形成鲜明对比。

交易量的下降在2026年初期按月度计算最为急剧。在Anthropic推出新型生产力工具的推动下，月度交易价值从1月份的高点240亿美元（$24bn）减少至2月份的90亿美元（$9bn）。到2026年5月，已宣布和完成的交易价值进一步暴跌至50亿美元（$5bn），与前一年5月份记录的290亿美元（$29bn）相比，急剧下降了82.76%。

尽管更广泛的软体抛售导致了犹豫，但仍发生了一些选择性的交易，例如Hg同意以约5亿美元（$500mn）收购Rightsline。然而，来自Arma Partners的Paul-Noël Guély和来自Latham & Watkins的David Walker等市场观察家指出，在估值稳定且投资者能够更好地评估哪些商业模式对人工智慧颠覆具有弹性之前，交易的全面复苏将保持停滞。

The value of private equity software acquisitions collapsed to 50 billion USD ($50bn) in the first five months of 2026, representing a 43.18% decrease from the 88 billion USD ($88bn) recorded during the same period last year. This downturn marks the lowest deal volume for this period since the 2020 pandemic. If this current trajectory persists throughout 2026, it will represent the weakest year for software dealmaking since 2018, contrasting sharply with last year's 11-year high of 290 billion USD ($290bn) in software buyouts.

The decline in dealmaking has been sharpest month-over-month in early 2026. Monthly deal value dwindled from a high of 24 billion USD ($24bn) in January to 9 billion USD ($9bn) in February, driven by the launch of new productivity tools from Anthropic. By May 2026, the value of announced and completed transactions plunged further to 5 billion USD ($5bn), a steep 82.76% drop compared to the 29 billion USD ($29bn) recorded in May of the previous year.

While the broader software sell-off has led to hesitation, some selective transactions have occurred, such as Hg agreeing to acquire Rightsline for approximately 500 million USD ($500mn). However, market observers like Paul-Noël Guély of Arma Partners and David Walker of Latham & Watkins note that a full recovery in dealmaking will remain stalled until valuations stabilize and investors can better assess which business models are resilient to AI disruption. (Key numbers: 5)