Inven: Find M&A Targets Others Miss

If you're in private equity, investment banking, or corporate development, you know the frustration. You've exhausted the usual databases, contacted your network, and yet you're still missing the best acquisition targets—the ones hiding in the middle market and lower middle market where traditional tools simply don't look.

That's because most enterprise databases were built for the top of the market. They cover the Fortune 500 and well-funded startups, but they leave a massive gap: companies with $10M to $500M in revenue that represent the majority of M&A activity but rarely appear in conventional platforms.

Inven changes that. As the first AI-native platform designed specifically for private markets, Inven uses natural language processing and machine learning to automatically extract, analyze, and synthesize company information from over 4 million data sources. The result? You find targets that other tools simply can't surface.

Whether you're a private equity firm building a proprietary deal flow, an investment bank crafting buyer and seller target lists, or a search fund owner looking for the right acquisition, Inven gives you a systematic edge. Over 1,000 companies trust Inven for their M&A intelligence, including firms like Briggs Capital, Desert Horizon Capital, and the German Investment Bank. The platform holds a 4.5-star rating on G2, and users consistently report dramatic efficiency gains—one client increased their potential target coverage by 10x.

This isn't just a bigger database. It's a fundamentally different approach to deal sourcing.

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What You Can Do with Inven

Inven isn't just another database—it's a complete M&A intelligence platform that replaces hours of manual research with intelligent automation. Here's how each capability translates into real workflow improvements for deal professionals.

Company Search: Find Targets by Describing What You Need

You can use Inven's AI-powered semantic search to find the right companies faster. Instead of building complex Boolean queries, simply describe what you're looking for—"manufacturers in the Midwest with $20-50M revenue that serve healthcare customers"—and Inven's AI understands context, company characteristics, and operational similarities to surface relevant matches. With access to over 28 million companies globally, you're not limited to companies that have been manually indexed or submitted their own data. Filters for ownership structure, geography, size, growth trajectory, estimated revenue, funding status, and sale intent help you narrow results to precisely who's worth pursuing.

Investor Search: Identify Active Buyers Fast

You can use investor search to identify financial and strategic buyers actively investing in your space. Inven analyzes investors' historical deals, preferred industries, and investment stages to help you build targeted buyer lists in minutes rather than days. This is invaluable when you're representing a seller and need to identify every possible acquirer, or when you're advising a PE firm looking for platform acquisition opportunities in specific sectors.

Deal Search: Understand Market Activity

You can access private market transaction data to understand what's actually happening in your target industries. Inven analyzes over 4 million sources—including news articles, regulatory filings, and private databases—to track deals across sectors and regions. Use this to benchmark valuations, identify competitor activity, spot emerging trends, and build intelligence for client pitches.

Financial Data: Evaluate Targets with Real Numbers

You can access public and private company financial data, including income statements, balance sheets, and ownership structures. This enables more accurate valuation discussions and thorough financial due diligence. Whether you're assessing a potential platform acquisition or evaluating add-on targets for a portfolio company, having structured financial data at your fingertips dramatically speeds up the evaluation process.

Contact Data: Reach Decision-Makers Directly

You can connect with the right people inside target companies. Inven provides contact information for key decision-makers, enabling you to bypass gatekeepers and initiate conversations directly. For brokers and advisors, this means shorter outreach cycles and higher response rates.

Intent to Sell Signals: Find Sellers Before They List

You can discover companies that may be preparing to sell—even before they publicly engage a broker. Inven's AI analyzes company dynamics, market signals, leadership changes, and other indicators to identify potential sellers. This gives you a first-mover advantage in a market where the best deals often never reach the broader auction process.

Company Alerts: Never Miss a Relevant Opportunity

You can set up real-time monitoring for any industry, company, or event that matters to your strategy. When new companies enter your target market or significant events occur at companies you're tracking, Inven alerts you immediately. This ensures your pipeline stays current without manual monitoring.

CRM Integrations: Streamline Your Workflow

You can connect Inven with your existing CRM systems, including Salesforce and HubSpot, to eliminate duplicate data entry and keep your team synchronized. Deal information flows seamlessly between platforms, reducing administrative burden and ensuring everyone works from the same data.

Chrome Extension: Research Without Switching Context

You can get instant company data while browsing the web—no need to open a separate tab or platform. The Chrome extension pulls relevant information as you read news articles, visit company websites, or conduct general research, making your workflow feel natural rather than fragmented.

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Who Uses Inven

Inven serves a diverse range of professionals across the M&A ecosystem. Understanding how your peers use the platform helps you see where it fits into your workflow.

Private Equity Firms: Building Proprietary Deal Flow

If you're a private equity firm focused on platform and add-on acquisitions, Inven helps you identify targets that generate strong synergies with your portfolio companies. Traditional databases struggle with the middle market, but Inven's AI finds companies operating below the radar of major platforms. One PE client increased their potential target coverage by 10x, transforming their sourcing efficiency.

Investment Banks: Building Buyer and Seller Lists

If you work in M&A advisory, Inven helps you build comprehensive buyer and seller target lists faster than ever. Identify strategic and financial buyers in specific sectors, including international participants that traditional platforms overlook. This means better outcomes for your sell-side engagements and more thorough coverage for buy-side mandates.

Corporate Development Teams: Global Acquisition Analysis

If you're in corporate M&A, use Inven to analyze the global universe of acquisition targets and identify long-term growth opportunities in non-public markets. The earlier you identify quality targets, the better your negotiating position. Inven helps you get ahead of the competition.

Consulting Firms: Market Intelligence for Client Work

If you're in consulting and handle M&A, strategy, or due diligence projects, Inven provides deep market and competitive intelligence quickly. Rather than spending days researching an industry from scratch, generate informed perspectives in hours—building client confidence in your expertise.

Venture Capital: Early-Stage Discovery

If you're a VC firm, use Inven to discover companies earlier and build thematic investment pipelines. Track emerging sectors globally and identify promising startups before they become widely known. Early detection means better terms and stronger deal flow.

Search Funds: Identifying Owner-Operated Businesses

If you're raising a search fund or already in the acquisition phase, Inven helps you identify owner-operated businesses that match your criteria. Prioritize outreach based on intent-to-sell signals, focusing your efforts on businesses most likely to transact. This approach improves efficiency and helps avoid wasting time on businesses that aren't genuinely interested in selling.

Business Brokers: Finding Businesses Ready to Sell

If you're a business broker, Inven helps you discover businesses preparing to sell—often before they engage any broker. Identify potential clients proactively rather than waiting for them to come to market. This expands your client base and creates new revenue opportunities.

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Pricing Plans

Inven offers three tiers designed to match different team sizes and capability requirements. Each plan includes deal flow management features.

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What Users Say About Inven

Inven has transformed deal sourcing for firms across the private market ecosystem. Here's what professionals actually experience when they use the platform.

"Inven has become an essential tool for finding potential buyers or sellers. It accelerates the prospecting workflow and enables us to increase deal volume." — Marius Rusu, Managing Partner, Adnumus

"Using Inven provides a significant competitive advantage—we can identify and target relevant companies without a dedicated research team, saving both time and resources." — Bryce Richardson, Founder, Basin Lake Capital

"I'm impressed with Inven's product. I currently consider Inven to be the market leader." — Partner, German Investment Bank

"Using Inven, we added approximately 50 potential buyers—strategic and financial. The AI-driven search has been critical in optimizing the buyer list." — Kirk Michie, Managing Partner, Candor Advisors

"Inven's AI search extends team capabilities—work that previously required a team of three can now be completed by one person in a single day." — Christian Rock, VP, Gateway Partners

"Inven has become my most valuable tool for finding strategic buyers and acquisition targets." — Aaron Linnebach, Managing Director, Raincatcher

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Ready to Find Targets Others Miss?

The middle market is where the best M&A opportunities live, yet it's also where traditional databases fall shortest. Inven was built to solve exactly this problem—using AI to surface the companies that never make it into conventional deal sourcing tools.

Whether you're building a proprietary deal flow, advising on transactions, or searching for your first acquisition, Inven gives you a systematic advantage. The platform combines comprehensive data, intelligent search, and workflow automation into one solution that saves hours on every deal.

Ready to see what you've been missing?

• Explore the platform: inven.ai
• View pricing details: inven.ai/pricing
• Schedule a demo: inven.ai/book-a-meeting
• Contact sales: inven.ai/contact-sales