Our mergers and acquisitions team is ranked among the Elite law firms for Corporate M&A by Chambers USA and our lawyers have acted as M&A counsel to many of the largest and most sophisticated players in the technology sector, advising them on some of their most cutting-edge M&A transactions. Our team advises public and private companies of all sizes, from startups to publicly traded, whether buy-side or sell-side, U.S. domestic or cross-border. Collaborating with our intellectual property lawyers, we help clients assess IP risks and value. Our regulatory and policy lawyers help clients navigate the filing and review process for public transactions, cooperating with competition authorities to secure antitrust approval, and liaising with regulatory authorities to obtain required approvals and consents. These collaborations will be critical for AI transactions.
As with other industry-changing technology innovations, we expect that AI development will continue to generate M&A activity as established players seek to develop their technologies and product lines, successful emerging companies seek bigger platforms for their innovations, and early-stage investors seek exits.
M&A deals involving AI technology and companies that develop and commercialize that technology will pose many of the same issues as M&A involving other technology businesses – including IP, employee retention, and commercial issues. These deals will also require parties to focus on issues particular to AI – including provenance and use of training data and export control, data privacy and security, and other regulatory concerns.
AI-related issues will also arise in deals involving technology businesses that are users of AI technologies, even if they are not developing or commercializing AI themselves. These will include questions about trade secret protection, data privacy, and protectability of innovations made with the assistance of AI.
Our team is distinctively positioned to provide sophisticated support as M&A transactions related to the evolution of AI technologies begin to generate activity.