Industry Reports
Curated research and transaction insights from the team at SDR Ventures.
Industrial and Infrastructure Services Industry Report 2H 2026
The digital bits and bytes of AI technology are creating real-world demands for data center construction and electrical grid hardening and expansion. Skilled specialty contractors are scarce, and those looking to add manpower are ready to buy.
Distribution and Logistics Industry Report 2H 2026
The business of getting stuff from one place to another is ever changing, often by factors out of the producers’, the shippers’, and the consumers’ control. Creativity, technology, and innovation are solving problems today that didn’t exist yesterday.
Software & IT Services Industry Report 2H 2026
More than ever, demonstrating a software platform’s unique, innovative capabilities is driving demand. Pairing software with physical tools such as robotics and sensors is attracting attracting buyers eager to break into the market in a world of increasing automation and information management.
Deal Hound (Pet) Industry Report 2H 2026
For many, pets are family. And even in hard times, even when inflation bites, pets still need food and care, and pet owners have proven willing to spend. What makes the sector so desirable is the dependable, repeatable demand for services and supplies.
Manufacturing Industry Report 2H 2026
Manufacturing is short on the one thing it cannot automate overnight: people. Roughly 400,000 jobs sit open at any given time, and nearly 600,000 skilled workers who could fill them are sitting out. The problem is not only supply, it is geography. Meanwhile, the automation upgrade that would solve it carries a price tag most smaller owners cannot stomach alone. Which is exactly why private equity is circling. Willing buyer, meet willing seller.
Wellness and Health Services Industry Report 2H 2026
People need care and seek wellness. And neither are optional. The wellness and health market isn’t a want, it’s a need, and that makes it an attractive sector for those who provide care and encourage wellbeing. Both technology and emerging trends continue to create opportunities across the sector.
Professional Services Industry Report 2H 2026
AI may be changing what B2B consumers want, but the one thing AI can’t do is think on its own. Creative thinking, human judgment, and the ability to untangle a problem and develop a solution are at the core of professional services.
Agribusiness and Food Value Industry Report 2H 2026
The business of agriculture is both vital to human existence and challenged in unexpected, ever shifting ways. Input costs can swing wildly due to conditions outside the farmer’s control, weather can dry up water supplies or create floods. And the markets, not the farmer, set the price for whatever the farmer produces. And yet farmers, both small, organic operators and huge “big agra” producers forge ahead, secure in the knowledge that they produce the one thing the world absolutely needs.
The Deal Hound 1H 2026
The Deal Hound: 1H 2026 explores mergers and acquisitions activity, capital market conditions, and emerging trends shaping the pet industry amid evolving economic pressures. While long considered recession-resistant, the sector is facing increased consumer price sensitivity, moderating deal volumes, and heightened investor selectivity.
Industrial & Infrastructure Services Report 1H 2026
The Industrial & Infrastructure Services Report 1H 2026 explores rising M&A activity, capital market conditions, and key trends shaping the U.S. power grid and infrastructure sector. Driven by aging electrical systems, AI-driven energy demand, and renewed private equity interest, the report highlights growing investment opportunities across middle-market services, grid modernization, and essential infrastructure support businesses.
Wellness & Health Services Industry Report 1H26
The Wellness & Health Services Report (1H 2026) analyzes M&A activity, capital market conditions, and key trends shaping the wellness and healthcare sector. Coverage includes digital health, telemedicine, wearables, med spas, functional nutrition, and consumer-driven wellness, alongside transaction data, active buyers, and valuation benchmarks to inform owners, operators, and investors.
Agribusiness & Food Value Chain Report 1H 2026
The 1H 2026 Agribusiness & Food Value Chain Report says 2025 was defined by uncertainty: tariffs, higher inputs, labor shortages, and fertilizer risks pressured producers from farm to table. It argues the response is innovation—drones, robotics, AI and automation—plus consolidation among co-ops. On the demand side, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are reshaping food and beverage, pushing “high protein/fiber” and new labeling. M&A stayed active, while 2026 may hinge on Farm Bill and USMCA clarity. in 2026
Manufacturing Report 1H 2026
Policy shifts—from trade to onshoring incentives—are renewing interest in U.S. manufacturing, and buyers are favoring clear value propositions, repeatable growth, and diversified long-term customers. Capital is drifting from cyclical consumer and housing exposure toward mission-critical end markets like energy, infrastructure, medical devices, and electrical grid buildout. Watchpoints: a Supreme Court tariff ruling and a July USMCA review. Deal mix tilts strategic (56%) over financial (44%). Net
Distribution & Logistics Report 1H 2026
Tariff shifts and the 2025 end of the de minimis $800 duty-free rule are pushing online sellers to move fulfillment onshore. Meanwhile, shoppers' buy-and-return habits are fueling reverse logistics, where 3PLs route returns to nearby hubs, then clean, repair, repackage, and resell. Automation (AI, robotics, tracking) is a key lever, and 2025 dealmaking shows rising consolidation. Strategic buyers were 58% of deals (financial 42%). Rail, returns 3PLs, and logistics tech were active targets today.
Professional Services Report 1H 2026
AI won’t “replace” professional services—it reshapes them. Tools absorb routine work, freeing people for judgment, nuance, and relationships. Private equity is still consolidating a fragmented sector (notably accounting), while outsourced finance and fractional CFO work keep growing. Recorded 1H26 deals skew strategic (56%) vs financial (44%), with the most activity in consulting/accounting/legal and marketing services. Firms that pair AI with real expertise win buyer attention. Value proof wins
SOFTWARE & IT SERVICES REPORT 1H 2026
SDR Ventures’ 1H 2026 Software & IT Services Report argues AI is absorbing a disproportionate share of tech capital, driven by massive spending on LLMs, data centers, and chips—yet profitability and “bubble” risk remain uncertain. It highlights knock-on opportunities in infrastructure (construction, power, hardware), emerging tech beyond AI, and ongoing M&A activity shaping software, IT services, cybersecurity, and data analytics. It also notes regulation and deal mix tilted to strategic buyers.