Brenon Daly directs the financial analysis of the 451 Research Market Insight and M&A KnowledgeBase products within S&P Global Market Intelligence. He is responsible for all financial coverage within those product lines, as well as supporting investment- and acquisition-related activity by investment banking and private capital clients.
Brennon arrived at S&P Global Market Intelligence through its 2019 acquisition of 451 Research. Before joining 451 Research in mid-2006, Brenon worked at research boutique for technology-focused hedge funds, as well as trading equity and options on his own book.
Brenon began his career in 1991 as a founding reporter at the first English-language newspaper in the former Eastern Bloc. Brenon moved to Vienna in 1995 to run the local bureau for United Press International before taking on an analyst position with the Economist Group, where he researched and wrote reports for The Economist Intelligence Unit and the regional publication of The Economist.
In addition to earning a degree from the University of Kansas, Brenon studied at the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland) and the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria).
Generative AI's massive investment phase is stretching into its fourth year, with no signs of a spending slowdown. The unending gusher of required cash is forcing the main model providers into an ever-expanding search for new funding. Their next stop: Wall Street.
Lingering uncertainty about AI's impact on the finances and operations across the tech industry continues to push major companies to the sidelines of the M&A market. Spending on deals in January slumped to its lowest monthly total in a year. Not that the sluggish beginning necessarily sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Ever since AI hit its first rough patch a few months ago, tech dealmakers have pulled back on their billion-dollar bets. Scrutiny has replaced speculation. With "animal spirits" no longer animating the tech sector, M&A has lost a key driver of its recent near-record activity.
Forget all the talk about a dotcom-style meltdown for AI. 2026 is not 2000. AI valuations may be stretched into a shape that looks suspiciously like a bubble, but that doesn't mean they can't continue to inflate. Tech dealmakers overwhelmingly expect them to do just that in the coming year.
AI has made cybersecurity a bigger deal in tech M&A than it has ever been before. Acquisition dollars piled up in record amounts in 2025 as longtime buyers found new reasons to shop while fresh acquirers also got drawn into the historically busy sector. And the momentum is expected to roll on through this year.
After tech dealmakers struggled to find a single deal to highlight in 2024, one transaction announced last year ran away with the voting for 2025's "most significant acquisition": Google's $32 billion purchase of Wiz. The cloud security blockbuster took home the Golden Tombstone award after getting twice as many votes in our annual survey as the next two deals combined.
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