Georgios Markakis, Managing Partner at Venero Capital Advisors, delivered a keynote presentation at the HR Tech Jungle 2025 conference in Berlin, providing critical insights into the current state of WorkTech mergers and acquisitions and investment activity. The event brought together over 150 HR leaders, founders, and investors, and included keynotes, expert panels, live startup pitches, and hands-on workshops.
Venero's presentation, titled "Future of Work M&A and Investment Activity," painted a picture of an industry experiencing unprecedented consolidation.
Everyone is Buying Everyone
"Everyone is buying everyone!" This observation from a WorkTech CEO perfectly captures the current market dynamics. With 110 acquisitions announced in Q3 2025 alone, and between 90 and 100 companies getting acquired every quarter, the WorkTech sector is experiencing consolidation at levels not seen in years.
The M&A surge is being driven by three primary factors. First, AI-induced FOMO has companies asking themselves how to stay competitive when technology is evolving so rapidly, with many choosing to buy rather than build. Second, after a period of compression, M&A valuation multiples are starting to expand again, creating urgency to acquire before they rise further. Third, approximately $1.2 trillion of private equity dry powder awaiting deployment is driving interest in both platform investments and bolt-on acquisitions.
Revenue Growth Realities
The keynote included comprehensive revenue growth benchmarking across WorkTech companies, showing a median year-over-year growth rate of 15% for 2024, declining to 10% in 2025 and 9% in 2026. Major players like Workday, Paylocity, and ATOSS demonstrated solid but moderating growth trajectories, while the recruitment tech sector faced headwinds with companies like ZipRecruiter experiencing significant revenue declines.
Investment Activity Trends
Global WorkTech investment reached $2.4 billion in Q3 2025 across 168 deals. Over the last 12 months, 660 funding rounds raised $10 billion, with talent acquisition leading at 197 deals and $1.0 billion raised, followed by compensation, benefits, and rewards with 95 deals.
The funding distribution across growth stages revealed interesting patterns. Pre-seed and seed funding was steady year-over-year at 210 deals, while Series A funding pulled back slightly (-8%) to 170 deals. This suggests a healthy pipeline of early-stage companies but significant selectivity at later stages.
M&A Valuation Multiples Show Recovery
After significant compression from the 2021 peak, valuation multiples are stabilizing. The median EV to LTM revenue multiple for WorkTech companies reached 5.6x in the 12 months to Q3 2025, with the average at 5.8x. This represents a recovery from the lows of 2022-2023 but remains well below the 2020-2021 highs when average multiples exceeded 10x.
Supply and Demand Dynamics
The presentation also described what segments buyers are most interested in and what is available in the market. Strong demand exists for workforce management solutions, vertical-specific offerings, and companies with differentiated AI capabilities. Meanwhile, job boards, marketplaces, and traditional talent acquisition platforms face an oversupply situation relative to buyer interest.
Near-Term Outlook
Looking ahead, Venero sees continued momentum in WorkTech M&A, with the current environment representing a rare window for transformative deals. However, differentiation remains critical for success. Strong demand exists for companies with €5 million or more in annual recurring revenue, with larger and profitable assets commanding premium valuations.
Growth remains the primary driver of valuation, followed by gross revenue retention and net revenue retention, while profitability has become a gating factor rather than just a nice-to-have metric.
For WorkTech founders and executives, the message is clear: this is an opportune time to consider strategic options, but success requires strong fundamentals, clear differentiation, and the ability to demonstrate sustainable growth metrics that buyers value.
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