DealMAX 2025: “AI is no longer just a competitive advantage–it’s a board-level mandate.”

DealMAX 2025, the leading conference for middle-market mergers and acquisitions, took place in Las Vegas from April 7 to 9. The conference is recognized for its curated and focused networking opportunities, which drive efficient dealmaking, idea sharing, and maximization of growth potential for M&A success. 

DealMAX, formerly InterGrowth, is presented by the Association for Corporate Growth, the premier M&A deal-making network that comprises more than 100,000 middle-market professionals.  This year’s event hosted more than 3,100 business professionals at ARIA Resort and Casino, including over 855 private equity professionals and more than 775 investment bankers. 

Attendees at this year’s conference included Mitchel Nakken, Senior Managing Director at M&A advisor Palm Tree LLC, Steven Monterroso, CEO at Share Vault, as well as Liberty Advisor Group and its Principals Matt Courtney and Bill Palasek, as well as Head of M&A and Transaction Services Matt Boushka, as well as leading private equity firms within the middle market including Blackstone, Apax Partners, New Mountain Capital and Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. 

In the face of challenging times, questions about what drives company value are central and highlight how innovation is key, with AI leading the way to bolster company efficiency and growth. 

One of the conference’s special sessions was “Putting AI to Work,” which discussed the advantages and pitfalls of using AI technologies, why adoption has been slow, and how not using AI puts firms at a disadvantage. The session’s keynote speakers were Kevin McClelland, Head of Technology Investment Banking at Citizens JMP, Heather Madland, Managing Director at Novacap, Daniel McDow, Global Managing Director, Head of Software Investment Banking at Citi and Vimal Pattni, VP Director Product Management – Banking and Sell-Side Research at FactSet. 

Other AI-related sessions included “How to Deal and Business Development Teams Leverage AI,” a Q&A hosted by BlueFlame AI, as well as “AI is Everywhere – Your Data Isn’t; Building a Proprietary Edge in 2025.” 

Additionally, the session “Transforming Deal-Making: Where Gen-AI Delivers Value, Where it Falls Short” collated learnings from AI deployments for investment research at several participating funds and advisory firms, covering key topics from accuracy, data privacy and security, build vs. buy, limitations, among others. 

Among the attendees was Making Sense, a software development company that creates digital products and transforms businesses with deep knowledge of user experience and strategic thinking at its core. 

Speaking to Techli, Mariano Jurich, Project and Product Manager at Making Sense, said, “At DealMAX 2025, it became clear that AI is no longer just a competitive advantage–it’s a board-level mandate.” 

For middle-market companies, adopting AI is essential to stay competitive as it provides avenues for adaptation and efficient growth in the evolving business landscape. Jurich outlined how there is a need for these companies to “[rethink] their entire tech ecosystem to support AI strategies that demand greater data maturity and integration.”

Conversations at DealMAX highlighted the shift in how software is consumed, seeing as agent-based models are challenging traditional seat-based licensing and automation is impacting early-career roles. Also in attendance was Fernando Florez, Chief Revenue Officer at Making Sense, who underlined how the company “[helps] businesses navigate this evolution by designing scalable, future-ready digital products that align with both operational goals and long-term strategy.” 

With more than 15 years of experience, Making Sense combines bespoke creativity with the latest technology to create user-centered products that modernize businesses and make companies succeed.  The company is deeply rooted in Design Thinking philosophy and is committed to building solutions that solve current problems as well as remaining future-proof against potential weaknesses. With growing developments in AI, it is important to build innovative software products that elevate already existing ones to create the greatest impact. 

With over 17,000 individual one-on-one meetings, DealMAX provides a crucial space for companies to create long-lasting connections. Florez concluded that it is at conferences like DealMAX 2025 “where deep, cross-industry discussions come to life—and where companies like ours can add real value.”