Tentt

Research

Insights on deal origination, AI implementation, and the future of financial services.

Analysis and perspectives from the Tentt team.

Report

March 2026 M&A and Private Equity Report: A Blockbuster Month Amid Geopolitical Turbulence

Q1 2026 global M&A crossed $1 trillion as biopharma, AI, and industrial mega-deals pushed monthly activity to one of the strongest showings of the cycle. Our full report on the defining deals, sector dynamics, and what comes next.

April 2026 · 14 min read

Playbooks

In-House Team vs Deal Sourcing Software vs Managed Origination: How PE Firms Should Build Their Pipeline Engine

Most PE firms pick one — in-house BD analysts, a data platform like PitchBook or Grata, or a managed origination service. The firms generating the best proprietary deal flow run all three. A decision framework for building your origination stack.

April 2026 · 11 min read

Deal Origination

PitchBook vs Capital IQ for Deal Sourcing: What PE Deal Teams Actually Need

PitchBook and Capital IQ Pro dominate institutional financial data for PE — but for origination specifically, they solve different problems. A practitioner's comparison of which platform fits which deal-sourcing model.

April 2026 · 10 min read

Deal Origination

Best SourceScrub Alternatives After the Datasite-Grata Merger

Datasite acquired both Grata (June 2025) and SourceScrub (August 2025). What changes for current customers, who needs an alternative, and which platforms (and managed services) are the strongest replacements.

April 2026 · 9 min read

Deal Origination

9 Best Deal Sourcing Tools and Services for Private Equity, Compared & Ranked

An honest, practitioner-evaluated roundup of the deal sourcing landscape in 2026 — data platforms, AI-native challengers, deal networks, and managed origination services. Ranked by what actually produces qualified meetings.

April 2026 · 12 min read

Deal Origination

5 Best Axial Alternatives for Off-Market Lower Middle Market Deals

Axial dominates the lower middle market deal network — but the deals it circulates are intermediated and competitive. The honest comparison of alternatives, including marketplaces, data platforms, and the proprietary-flow option most lists ignore.

April 2026 · 9 min read

Playbooks

The add-on playbook: how PE firms source bolt-on acquisitions at scale

A breakdown of the targeting logic, signal criteria, and outreach sequencing behind our most-deployed playbook – portfolio company add-on sourcing.

March 2026 · 9 min read

AI & Claude

Implementing Claude for IC memo generation: a practical guide

How we configure Claude to draft investment committee memos that match your firm's template, tone, and analytical depth – with real data, not hallucinations.

March 2026 · 10 min read

Industry

Why commercial lenders are the next frontier for AI-driven origination

Lending origination is reactive, broker-intermediated, and manual. The signal infrastructure that transformed PE sourcing is coming for commercial lending next.

March 2026 · 8 min read

AI & Claude

MCP servers explained: connecting Claude to your firm's actual data

What MCP servers are, why they matter for financial services, and how we use them to give Claude access to your CRM, deal pipeline, and portfolio data.

March 2026 · 8 min read

Deal Origination

The PE origination gap: why proprietary deal flow is the last real edge

Broker-circulated flow is commoditised. The firms winning today are the ones who've built infrastructure to source conversations before the market knows they're looking.

March 2026 · 8 min read

Deal Origination

Signal-first vs volume-first: why timing beats scale in deal sourcing

The highest-converting origination campaigns don't send the most messages. They send the right message at the right moment – triggered by signals that indicate genuine timing.

March 2026 · 8 min read

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