HarbourVest reports software secondaries transactions are becoming increasingly difficult to complete, according to the firm's chair of secondaries investment committee. While some software businesses stand to benefit from AI innovation, others face potential obsolescence, creating uncertainty in the secondary market for these digital assets.

Managing director Jeff Keay notes that despite AI emergence, fundamentals of many software businesses remain largely unaffected. The challenge lies not in company performance but in valuation methodologies. Buyers and sellers struggle to agree on pricing as traditional metrics become less reliable in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

The decrease in public market comparables has created a pricing disconnect between parties. This valuation gap reflects broader tensions in private markets as investors adjust to post-2022 realities. The difficulty aligning on prices threatens to slow deal flow in the software secondary market, potentially leaving value on the table for both buyers and sellers.