Tracked deals
9
9 tracked deals across 2020-2026.
AI & Machine Learning Buyers & Acquisitions in Illinois
Buyer mix
Mixed buyer set
7 strategic · 4 pe
Top trend
Volume peaked in 2026
4 tracked deals announced in 2026.
Primary Insight
What Stands Out
- Relativity acquired Gavel to extend legal AI drafting and workflow integration into Microsoft Word, syncing edits back to Relativity’s platform.
- Paylocity acquired Grayscale Labs to strengthen AI-powered recruiting for high-volume hiring, integrating recruiting automation into its human capital management platform.
- SpendHQ acquired Sligo AI to add configurable agentic AI capabilities to enterprise procurement workflows under security and compliance constraints.
- Knowledge-work AI is a throughline: K1 Investment Management expanded AI-powered eDiscovery via the Reveal/Brainspace combination and Reveal’s acquisition of NexLP.
- The Illinois footprint also includes robotics AI, with Lucid Bots acquiring Avianna to add conversational controls and autonomy to cleaning robots and fleet management.
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Top Buyers
Illustrative buyers pulled from tracked transactions on this page. This table is capped and intentionally non-exhaustive.
| Buyer | # Deals | Focus | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fractal | 1 | Global enterprise AI and advanced analytics provider serv... | Strategic |
| H.I.G. Capital | 1 | Alternative asset manager that holds a minority investmen... | PE |
| K1 Investment Management | 1 | Private investment firm focused on building category-lead... | PE |
| Kohlberg | 1 | U.S. middle-market private equity firm investing in healt... | PE |
| Lucid Bots, Inc. | 1 | Designs, engineers, manufactures and supports autonomous ... | Strategic |
| Pamlico Capital | 1 | Middle-market private equity firm investing in growth-ori... | PE |
| Paylocity | 1 | Provides a human capital management platform with AI inte... | Strategic |
| Relativity | 1 | Legal data intelligence and AI software provider focused ... | Strategic |
| Reveal Data Corporation | 1 | Cloud-based eDiscovery software and services provider off... | Strategic (PE-backed) |
| Riveron | 1 | National business advisory firm focused on the Office of ... | Strategic (PE-backed) |
Acquisition Volume in AI & Machine Learning in Illinois by Year
Last 5 years
Actual
Full-year estimate
Supporting Data
Recent Transactions
-
- Buyer
- Relativity
- Target
- Gavel
- Seller
- Dorna Moini
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Relativity has acquired Gavel, an AI-native legal technology company used by legal professionals to draft, review, and automate work product directly in Microsoft Word and via web applications. The integration is intended to extend Relativity’s legal data intelligence platform (RelativityOne and Relativity aiR) into Microsoft Word, synchronizing edits back to the matter in RelativityOne.
-
April 11, 2026
- Buyer
- Paylocity
- Target
- Grayscale Labs
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Paylocity announced it has acquired Grayscale Labs to strengthen its AI-powered recruiting capabilities, especially for high-volume hiring organizations. The acquisition will integrate Grayscale’s recruiting automation technology into Paylocity’s human capital management platform to help employers engage candidates earlier and move faster through recruiting workflows.
-
April 2, 2026
- Buyer
- SpendHQ
- Target
- Sligo AI (Sligo Software, Inc.)
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
SpendHQ acquired Sligo AI (Sligo Software, Inc.) to bring configurable agentic AI capabilities to enterprise procurement workflows. The deal combines SpendHQ’s structured procurement spend data foundation with Sligo AI’s deployment infrastructure so enterprises can execute procurement tasks under security, compliance, and data sovereignty constraints.
-
March 5, 2026
- Buyer
- Riveron, Kohlberg, H.I.G. Capital
- Target
- Cuesta Partners
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Growth capital
Riveron, a business advisory firm backed by Kohlberg, announced a strategic investment and growth partnership with Cuesta Partners. The deal combines Riveron’s finance and CFO-focused advisory capabilities with Cuesta’s AI and data technology services to deliver AI-native solutions to middle-market clients.
-
July 24, 2024
- Buyer
- Lucid Bots, Inc.
- Target
- Avianna
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Lucid Bots has acquired Avianna, a startup that provides natural-language and autonomy AI (Mission AI, Vision AI, Fleet Management) for robots. The integration will add conversational controls and autonomous operations to Lucid Bots' cleaning robots (Sherpa, Lavo Bot), improving usability, fleet management, and deployment efficiency.
-
October 13, 2023
- Buyer
- Pamlico Capital
- Target
- InRule Technology
- Seller
- OpenGate Capital
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Growth capital
Pamlico Capital has made a strategic growth investment in InRule Technology, an intelligence automation company that provides decisioning, machine learning and process automation software for enterprise customers. Terms were not disclosed; the backing will help InRule accelerate product delivery and expand its intelligence automation offerings following recent growth and prior acquisitions, and marks the culmination of a partnership with prior investor OpenGate Capital.
-
June 22, 2021
- Buyer
- Fractal
- Target
- Samya.ai
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Fractal, a global provider of AI and advanced analytics, has acquired Samya.ai, a Revenue Growth Management (RGM) AI company, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition strengthens Fractal’s RGM capabilities—bringing Samya.ai’s deep‑learning and reinforcement‑learning based solutions (focused on CPG and retail customers) into Fractal’s suite to help Fortune 500 clients unlock revenue growth and reduce operational inefficiencies.
-
- Buyer
- K1 Investment Management
- Target
- Reveal Data Corporation, Brainspace Corporation
- Seller
- Gallant Capital Partners
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
K1 Investment Management has invested in the combined Reveal and Brainspace organization, acquiring Reveal from Gallant Capital Partners and merging Reveal with Brainspace to create a leading AI-powered eDiscovery platform. The combined company will receive more than $200 million of investment from K1 to accelerate product development, expand sales and marketing, and grow R&D and data science capabilities.
-
August 11, 2020
- Buyer
- Reveal Data Corporation
- Target
- NexLP
- Industry
- AI & Machine Learning
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Reveal Data Corporation has acquired NexLP, an AI-driven eDiscovery software provider, and will integrate NexLP's Story Engine AI and data science team into Reveal's review platform. Jay Leib, NexLP co-founder and CEO, joins Reveal as EVP of Innovation & Strategy; terms were not disclosed and Reveal — which is majority-owned by Gallant Capital Partners — worked with Houlihan Lokey and Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth on the transaction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of AI applications show up most often in Illinois acquisitions here?
The transactions emphasize enterprise workflow AI—legal drafting and eDiscovery, recruiting automation, procurement agents, and revenue growth management—plus robotics controls for cleaning and fleet management.
Which deals are focused on legal and document work?
Relativity acquired Gavel for legal AI drafting in Microsoft Word, and K1 Investment Management backed the combination/expansion of Reveal and Brainspace to build an AI-powered eDiscovery platform, including Reveal’s acquisition of NexLP.
Are these acquisitions mostly strategic buyers or investors?
Both appear: operating companies (e.g., Relativity, Paylocity, SpendHQ, Lucid Bots) pursue capability additions, while firms such as Pamlico Capital, H.I.G. Capital, and Kohlberg show up as investors in growth or strategic partnerships (e.g., Riveron backed by Kohlberg, and Pamlico backing InRule Technology).
Do the deals include robotics or autonomy, or only software?
Robotics/autonomy is represented. Lucid Bots acquired Avianna to add natural-language controls and autonomous operations for its cleaning robots, including fleet management.
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