AI & Machine Learning Buyers & Acquisitions in Illinois

Tracked deals

9

9 tracked deals across 2020-2026.

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 editing into Microsoft Word and to sync changes back to RelativityOne.
  • Paylocity acquired Grayscale Labs to strengthen AI-powered recruiting workflows, particularly for high-volume hiring organizations.
  • SpendHQ acquired Sligo AI to add configurable agentic AI capabilities to enterprise procurement workflows.
  • AI eDiscovery and workflow expansion shows up in K1 Investment Management’s investment in the Reveal/Brainspace combination and Reveal’s earlier acquisition of NexLP.
  • Illinois-based activity spans both “pure-play” AI platforms (e.g., legal tech, eDiscovery, mission/vision AI for robots) and larger enterprise software and services buyers.

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Buyer Snapshot

Top Buyers

Illustrative buyers pulled from tracked transactions on this page. This table is capped and intentionally non-exhaustive.

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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 company building ... 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

Acquisition volume by year Annual acquisition counts for the last 5 years for AI & Machine Learning Buyers & Acquisitions in Illinois. 1 2020 2 2021 1 2023 1 2024 ~5 est. 4 2026
Actual Full-year estimate

Supporting Data

Recent Transactions

  • Relativity Acquires Gavel to Extend Legal AI Drafting Into Microsoft Word
    June 12, 2026
    Buyer
    Relativity
    Target
    Gavel
    Industry
    AI & Machine Learning
    Location
    Illinois, United States
    Type
    Buyout

    Relativity announced its acquisition of Gavel, an AI-native legal technology company used by legal teams to draft, review, and automate legal work product directly in Microsoft Word and on the web. Relativity plans to integrate Gavel capabilities so documents created in Relativity tools can be edited, redlined, and finalized in Word while syncing changes back to RelativityOne.

  • Paylocity Acquires Grayscale Labs
    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.

  • SpendHQ Acquires Sligo AI
    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.

  • Riveron (Backed by Kohlberg) Invests in Cuesta Partners to Expand AI and Data Advisory Services
    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.

  • Lucid Bots Acquires Avianna
    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.

  • Pamlico Capital Invests in InRule Technology
    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.

  • Fractal Acquires Samya.ai
    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.

  • K1 Investment Management Acquires Reveal; Reveal Merges with Brainspace
    January 26, 2021
    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.

  • Reveal Acquires NexLP
    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

Which buyers appear most often in Illinois AI & machine learning acquisitions?

Recurring names in the Illinois deals include Pamlico Capital, K1 Investment Management, Relativity, Riveron, Kohlberg, H.I.G. Capital, SpendHQ, and Paylocity.

What types of AI use cases show up in these Illinois transactions?

Common themes include legal AI drafting within word-processing workflows, AI recruiting automation for high-volume hiring, agentic AI for procurement tasks, AI-driven eDiscovery, and natural-language/autonomy AI for robots.

Are these deals mostly software acquisitions or also include investing/partnerships?

Both appear. For example, acquisitions include Relativity’s purchase of Gavel and Paylocity’s purchase of Grayscale Labs, while other entries include strategic investment and growth partnerships such as Riveron’s with Cuesta Partners.

Do the deals focus on integrating AI into existing enterprise platforms?

Yes. Several summaries highlight platform integration—such as Relativity syncing edited documents back to RelativityOne, and Paylocity integrating recruiting automation into its human capital management platform.

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