Top Ten Tech M&A Transactions This Week by Ascento 3/20/26

Ascento Capital Invest @ www.techbanking.com

Deal of the Week

3/17/26 Mastercard to acquire crypto startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion in largest stablecoin deal to date

Mastercard has finally pulled the trigger on a stablecoin acquisition. The payments giant on Tuesday morning announced a deal to acquire the London-based startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, with $300 million locked up in “contingent payments.”

The deal is expected to close by year end, Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief product officer, told Fortune. He declined to provide more details about the purchase of BVNK, which uses stablecoins to power customer transactions, cross-border payments, global treasuries, and other use cases.

Fortune

3/19/26 CHNR Announces Non-Binding Letter of Intent to Acquire Majority Stake in HooRii Technology, Marking Strategic Shift to Physical AI

China Natural Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHNR), a holding company that operates in exploration and mining business, today announced that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent, with Feishang Group Limited, its principal shareholder ("Feishang"), to acquire 100% shares of a wholly owned subsidiary of Feishang that will own, directly or indirectly, 59.79% of the equity interest of HooRii Technology (HK) Limited ("HooRii"), a limited liability company incorporated in Hong Kong specializing in physical AI development, through the combination of IOT and artificial intelligence, to bring AI into the physical world (the "Acquisition").

Pursuant to the LOI, the Acquisition's total consideration is estimated to range between US$37 million to US$40 million through a combination of cash and stock issuance.

Stock Titan

3/19/26 Amazon acquires Rivr, maker of a stair-climbing delivery robot

Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup known for its stair-climbing delivery robot, has been acquired by Amazon in a deal that signals the e-commerce giant’s interest in doorstep delivery. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Co-founder and CEO Marko Bjelonic, who once described the four-legged wheeled robot to TechCrunch as a “dog on roller skates,” shared the acquisition news on LinkedIn. The Information was first to report the deal.

Tech Crunch

3/19/26 OpenAI acquires open-source Python tooling startup Astral

OpenAI Group PBC today announced plans to acquire Astral Software Inc., a startup with a set of widely used Python development tools. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Astral’s development tools are written in Rust, a programming language that is both more complicated and significantly faster than Python. As a result, the startup says that its software is 10 to 100 times more performant than competing products. That speed and certain other features have helped Astral build an installed base of several million developers.

Silicon Angle

3/18/26 Microsoft Acqui-Hires Sequoia-Backed Cove in AI Talent Grab

Microsoft just scooped up another AI startup in the talent war that's reshaping the industry. Sequoia Capital-backed Cove, an AI collaboration platform, is shutting down after its team joined the Redmond giant in what's being described as a classic acqui-hire. The move comes as tech giants continue aggressively recruiting AI talent, often absorbing entire startups rather than building capabilities from scratch. Cove users have until April 1 before the service goes dark and their data gets wiped.

Microsoft continues its aggressive push into AI collaboration tools with the acqui-hire of Cove, a Sequoia Capital-backed startup that built AI-powered workspace technology. The deal marks yet another chapter in the ongoing talent war between tech giants scrambling to dominate the enterprise AI space.

The Tech Buzz

3/17/26 iCapital Buys Hexure to Expand Insurance, Annuity Capabilities

Alternative investment platform iCapital has agreed to buy Hexure, a provider of life insurance and annuity sales software, for an undisclosed amount.

iCapital plans to use Hexure to create an end-to-end annuity and insurance technology platform for its financial advisor clients that will be connected to its alternatives and structured investments platform. iCapital already operates an annuity marketplace that also provides education and investment cycle management tools. Back in 2022, it bought SIMON Markets, a Goldman Sachs spinoff platform that brought with it over 50 investment managers of structured products and annuities. The Hexure acquisition will allow iCapital to take advantage of the firm's AI-enabled e-application, illustration and post-sale workflow technology. Hexure’s FireLight digital sales platform and ForeSight illustration technology will be integrated into the broader iCapital platform.

Informa

3/17/26 Cyber startup Tailscale turns to mergers as AI agents flood networks

Canadian cybersecurity startup Tailscale Inc. bought smaller Vancouver-based firm Border0, its first acquisition, adding technology that helps businesses manage the proliferation of artificial intelligence agents being unleashed into digital systems.

Border0 helps companies manage and monitor the people and technology allowed into different servers and databases. That service, called privileged access management, is a focus of new security questions because of autonomous AI tools, said Avery Pennarun, Tailscale’s co-founder and chief executive.

Financial Post

3/16/26 Kaltura doubles down on AI with $22 million PathFactory acquisition

Kaltura has agreed to acquire AI startup PathFactory for about $22 million in cash, the company said Monday, as the New York-listed video technology provider continues an aggressive push to reposition itself around artificial intelligence.

The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, follows the company’s recent acquisition of avatar startup eSelf.ai and reflects Kaltura’s attempt to transform its core product, long known as an enterprise video platform, into what it describes as a broader system for “agentic digital experiences.”

CTech

3/16/26 Ramp acquires Billhop to expand into UK and Europe

Ramp, a financial operations platform serving over 50,000 businesses globally, has acquired Billhop, a Stockholm- and London-based B2B payments platform, as part of its push to extend services to UK and European customers.

The acquisition brings Billhop’s licensed payments infrastructure — holding licences in both the UK and Sweden — into the Ramp ecosystem, enabling the company to directly onboard businesses headquartered in the UK and EU for the first time. Ramp will also open its first international offices in London and Stockholm as part of the deal.

Fintech Global

3/15/26 Veloryx in advanced talks to acquire defense drone maker Aero Sol

Veloryx aims to become a leading player in homeland security, offering modular and comprehensive solutions for both military and civilian sectors

Veloryx, a homeland security solutions company, is in advanced negotiations to acquire a 70 percent controlling stake in Israeli defense drone manufacturer Aero Sol Aviation Solutions Ltd., with the parties aiming to finalize a binding agreement by April.Veloryx aims to become a leading player in homeland security, offering modular and comprehensive solutions for both military and civilian sectors

The Jerusalem Post