Updated for 2025. This guide compares the best deal sourcing platforms, explains what to look for (coverage, accuracy, AI search, contacts, pricing), and shows how modern tools help M&A teams find better acquisition targets faster.
Having fast and accurate access to data to find potential acquisition targets is crucial for investment banking and private equity success. Deal sourcing platforms are designed to make the process of discovering potential acquisitions as efficient as possible. In this article we list seven sourcing platforms to support M&A professionals' work, explore their key features, and provide valuable insights to have before investing in a deal sourcing tool.
Various company and financial information platforms have simplified and streamlined the process of identifying potential acquisition targets. Deal sourcing platforms allow investment banks and PE firms to search attractive investment opportunities more efficiently.
What Is a Deal Sourcing Platform?
Deal sourcing platform (DSP) is a software designed to support private equity firms and investment banks in identifying viable investment prospects. Deal sourcing software accelerate the process of seeking out and evaluating prospective targets that align with the investor's criteria.
Platforms can provide company information, intel on market and industry trends, and additional analysis tools. Some platforms are equipped with global market news and up-to-date research. Others have better features in transaction data, or access to company ownership information.
The more advanced platforms take advantage of Artificial Intelligence, giving M&A professionals an additional boost to their deal sourcing activities. In addition to searching for acquisition targets, some platforms provide due diligence and post-acquisition integrations, which can help make the dealmaking process even smoother.
How Can Private Equity Firms and Investment Banks Use Deal Sourcing Platforms for Finding Acquisition Targets?
Private equity firms and investment banks use precise search filters embedded in the platforms to narrow down potential targets based on their acquisition criteria. The platforms allow investors to search through a database of companies and to quickly identify targets that may be promising. The time saved from manual research allows teams to focus on higher-value work, such as financial analysis, due diligence, client meetings, and legal assessment. As a result, firms can gain access to new opportunities that are more likely to yield successful investments.
Deal sourcing platforms help streamline the search for potential targets that align with PE firms' investment strategies. A PE firm can use a deal sourcing software to identify potential companies that are undervalued or underperforming. AI based deal sourcing platforms (such as Inven) are also able to detect relevant targets based on similar companies PEs have invested in before.
Investment banks, on the other hand, can leverage a deal sourcing software to identify companies seeking to raise capital or be acquired. The platforms allow IBs to connect with potential clients and facilitate deals more efficiently for their clients. AI solutions reduce manual desktop hours and allow IBs to find better leads in any niche.
Both PE firms and IBs also benefit from deal sourcing software by tracking industry trends and networking with other professionals in their field. DSPs enable keeping up to date on market changes and new, emerging companies. The platforms also support outreach, allowing M&A professionals to find the contact information of potential partners and clients.
Which Deal Sourcing Platforms Are the Best in 2025?
Here are seven platforms that private equities, investment banks, and other M&A professionals are leveraging to reach a broader range of companies within the target industry, or to find companies seeking buyers previously left hidden.
1. Inven: AI-native deal sourcing software for faster dealflow
Inven is a deal sourcing software designed to uncover niche private market companies. Inven combines millions of data points to build an exportable list of prospective targets for further analysis. Inven has a vast database of 21M+ companies worldwide, financial data of 50M+ legal entities in Europe, and access to 430M+ professional and owner contacts.
Inven's software uses data from various sources, enabling targeted searches based on previous relevant results determined by the analyst. This functionality enables searches based on ownership, selected industry, geographical location, or e.g., funding round. Further, this allows analysts to spend more time on other crucial tasks such as due diligence, valuation, and stakeholder meetings.
Features: AI for deal sourcing finds all relevant companies that match written instructions, reducing the need to search with industry codes. The platform can be used to find relevant deal prospects, add-on targets, or platform companies. The platform also provides an intuitive export feature.
Pricing: Inven has customizable and competitive pricing – tailored to meet clients’ specific needs. A personalized pricing plan can be discussed in a demo, where the customer will be walked through the distinct features and the user experience.
2. Capital IQ: Market and industry reports by analysts
Capital IQ, a business unit within S&P Global, is a comprehensive financial intelligence platform that offers a wide range of reports, analysis tools, and market research for M&A professionals. Capital IQ is primarily a data and analytics platform. Deliverables include industry reports, market trends, competitive landscapes, and key performance indicators. While the platform includes in-house research, much of its analyst estimates and thematic reports are aggregated from external broker and independent sources.
Features: Capital IQ has a particularly good coverage on public company information. Capital IQ provides data on IPOs, equity and debt offerings, and M&As. Capital IQ has a smart search available – an AI assisted search on top of the standard one.
Pricing: Capital IQ pricing is not publicly listed, however online reviews report the annual costs to range between $20,000 to over $100,000. Pricing can vary widely depending on the number of users and the specific services included in the package.
3. PitchBook: Transaction and valuation data for M&A professionals
PitchBook is a financial data and technology provider that covers companies in the public and private markets. PitchBook is a subsidiary of Morningstar and it consolidates, standardizes and derives insightfrom various data sources around the world. On top of that, PitchBook offers products that support the utilization of their data and insights.
Features: PitchBook specializes in private equity-focused intelligence, with financial data of some million companies. Their data is focused on public, large enterprises and verified financials. They provide information on data such as private market activity, including transaction and valuation data, investors and owners.
Pricing: PitchBook pricing system varies depending on the number of user seats and the specific requirements of the client. According to estimates, the standard plan for PitchBook typically ranges between $20,000 to $70,000 or more per year.
4. Grata: Deal sourcing platform
Grata is a software company that relies on ML/AI technology as its foundation. Its operational approach centers around utilizing company websites as the primary and authoritative data source. The validation of this data is achieved through an automated machine learning system. In recent changes, Grata has been acquired by Datasite alongside Sourcescrub, leaving future directions and focus areas unclear.
Features: The database consists of lower middle-market and middle-market companies internationally. Grata's workflow tools help relationship management as well as building business development strategy.
Pricing: Grata has a tiered pricing system with different plans. Pricing details are customized based on the scale of use required by the client – likely starting from $15,000 per year, according to Capterra.
5. Gain.pro: European private-market research
Gain.pro is a deal intelligence platform focused on providing in-depth financial, ownership, and performance data on private companies across Europe. Built by former investors, the platform targets buyout, M&A, and corporate finance professionals who need accurate company-level visibility in the lower- and mid-market.
Features: Gain.pro combines registry filings, financial statements, and analyst-verified data to identify profitable, growing private businesses. It provides access to company profiles, estimated financials, ownership structures, and valuation insights. The platform is particularly strong for European companies, offering filters for revenue, EBITDA, and growth characteristics relevant to buyout or add-on strategies.
Pricing: Custom pricing. Reported by users to start from the low- to mid-five-figure range annually, depending on team size and geographic coverage.
6. Cyndx: AI-assisted company and investor matching
Cyndx is an AI-powered deal sourcing and capital-matching platform that connects investors, buyers, and private companies. The platform uses machine learning and natural-language processing to analyze company data and predict relevant investor–target pairings, helping users identify potential acquirers, investors, or funding candidates.
Features: Cyndx’s algorithmic search engine (Cyndx Finder) allows users to discover companies by growth profile, funding stage, or technology keywords. Its integrated investor database includes venture, growth, and buyout funds, along with strategic acquirers. The platform also provides visualizations that map relationships between companies, investors, and sectors.
Pricing: Cyndx offers customized pricing based on data access and number of licenses. Public sources suggest costs typically fall in the mid-five-figure annual range per firm.
7. Sourcescrub: Web source based company discovery
Sourcescrub is a private-company intelligence platform used primarily for middle-market M&A sourcing in North America. It compiles information from company websites, events, directories, and professional networks to identify growing, founder-owned businesses. Now part of Datasite’s broader M&A technology suite (alongside Grata), Sourcescrub is increasingly being integrated into a unified deal-sourcing environment, leaving future directions and focus areas unclear.
Features: Sourcescrub offers searchable company profiles enriched with firmographics, growth signals, and contact data. It is valued for its event-based discovery tools, which help users find companies participating in conferences or trade shows. CRM integrations support outbound sourcing and business development workflows.
Pricing: Typically starts in the low-five-figure range per user annually. Pricing varies by dataset access and integration level.
What Makes a Good Deal Sourcing Platform?
There are a few features that separate a great and an average deal sourcing software. When selecting a service provider, key factors to consider include:
- Company coverage: Consider the number of company data available on the platform. Ensure the software caters from public to middle market and lower middle market companies, aligning with your investment scope.
- Market diversity: Geographical coverage varies across platforms, making it an important differentiating factor when looking to gain access to a diverse array of investment opportunities.
- Scope, depth and accuracy of the data: Look for an M&A deal sourcing platform offering a wide array of data points, from financials to ownership and contact information. Good platforms match comprehensive company profiles with similar companies to map out competitors and detect equally promising acquisition opportunities.
- Intuitive features: Important features may include searching based on location, niche keywords, or company size. AI features complement an intuitive searching experience.
- Integrations and exporting: The ability to export lists, CRM integration, and supporting Chrome extension are key when looking to complement existing workflows.
- Contact Information: Reliable access to contact data for all of the key decision-makers makes the difference.
What else to consider when deciding on a software provider?
- Level of Customer Support: How personalized is the customer support? A great platform paired with reliable customer service and possible customizations can increase the value of the investment.
- Cost and Benefits: Evaluate the cost of the software in relation to its features, keeping in mind the potential return on investment. Read more about platform pricing below.
Deal Sourcing Platform Pricing
The pricing of deal sourcing platforms varies depending on factors such as breadth and depth of information, functionality, scalability, and target market. Many platforms offer tiered pricing plans based on the level of access to information and capabilities provided.
Deal sourcing platform prices are often based on a monthly, quarterly or annual fee for access to the software and support. In principle, standard yearly plans for deal sourcing platforms range in the thousands for good data and coverage, up to tens of thousands for custom plans or enterprise subscriptions. Some deal sourcing platforms may offer a free trial version with limited features, allowing potential customers to test out the platform before committing to a paid plan. For example, Inven offers a free-of-charge demo session to familiarize interested users with the platform.
Pricing details based on publicly available sources and verified user reviews as of October 2025; actual pricing varies by access level, integrations, and seat count.
Typically, different tiers of pricing allow customers to choose the level of functionality that aligns with their needs and budget. Most of the platforms have adopted a pay-per-user model, where the pricing is determined by the number of users accessing the platform.
The different pricing packages vary with the provided data coverage. Additional fees may be charged for more extensive features or more in-depth data. Aspects that affect pricing include access to company executive contacts, plug-ins and additional analysis tools. Often data from different geographical areas can be separately priced, for example, within Europe, US or global data.
All deal sourcing platforms aim to support their customers to find a preferred package with superior value, providing M&A professionals with the tools they need to gain actionable insights.
Benefits of Using Deal Sourcing Software
Investing in the right deal sourcing software can be a game-changer for PE firms and IB, as they provide access to more potential acquisition targets with increased efficiency.
- Deal sourcing software automates the process of identifying potential targets, reducing the time spent scrolling through companies’ websites. A more stable deal flow helps IBs and PEs close more deals, ultimately achieving greater financial success.
- Deal sourcing platforms provide access to comprehensive data. This means instant access to rich data points on the identified companies. Once DSP has run the search according to desired parameters, it combines a list of companies with headcount, ownership structure, and contact details available at one glance.
- M&A deal sourcing platforms have great reach and scope, spanning various industries both nationwide and in global markets. All the data derived from DSP searches ensures IBs and PEs have a larger pool of good targets to begin acquisition processes with. This expands the scope of potential investments and eventually makes due diligence faster as well.
Conclusion: More Coverage, Less Time Wasted
There are many different deal sourcing solutions on the market, so it's important to consider your needs and requirements. The platform's features, market scope and cost-effectiveness all play a role in the final decision. Comparison will help you choose a platform that doesn’t leave any area uncovered. See how Inven compares to Pitchbook, Sourcescrub or Grata.
A great deal sourcing software supports M&A professionals in detecting more deals through uncovering hidden gems. They cover more markets with greater accuracy than manual desktop search and save weeks of analysts’ time. Overall, the use of deal sourcing platforms can help improve the quality of deals secured and increase return on investment.
Curious to see the difference yourself?
Book a demo with Inven to boost your sourcing and gain an advantage over your competitors.
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