SEG AI Valuation Gap: 83% of M&A Buyers Paying AI Premiums, But 63% of Targets Have Only Limited AI — Expectation-Reality Gap Widens

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Software Equity Group's 2026 data reveals that 83% of active SaaS M&A buyers have paid premium multiples for AI-native or AI-integrated targets, with 86% expecting premiums to persist. However, in 2025, only 26% of targets evaluated actually qualified as 'genuinely AI-driven' while 63% had limited AI. Buyers expect 61% of 2026 targets to be AI-driven — a 35-point expectation gap. The result: a 1-3x multiple premium concentrates at the narrow end of a very specific AI-native profile, while non-AI SaaS valuations remain flat.