How AI Speeds Up Post-Merger IT Integration
After the announcement of an M&A deal, there’s a lot to do. It takes more than a financial transaction to merge two companies. People, infrastructure, office space, manufacturing, equipment and contracts all need to be integrated into a single entity, which can take time.
But, Bonterra CEO Scott Brighton says, this is another good use case for AI. Bonterra, which offers a variety of software platforms used by social good organizations for operations, donations and events, has grown through acquisitions. It made two in the last year—buying digital fundraising provider OneCause last October and workplace giving platform Deed in October—and Brighton has used AI to help sort through many of the behind-the-scenes details to speed the integration. I spoke with him about how this helps from a technology standpoint, and an excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.
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It was a sprawling court battle that some said could have an outsized impact on the future of AI, and it ended in a whimper with no clear resolution. After weeks of testimony from high-profile tech figures in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and its cofounder and CEO Sam Altman, a jury quickly decided to dismiss the case, ruling this week that Musk waited too long to file his complaint accusing OpenAI of reneging on its initial founding promise to be a nonprofit dedicated to the public good. After the verdict, Musk, a cofounder of OpenAI who stepped away in 2018, told Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane that the ruling set a “dangerous precedent.”
“It means if somebody can take a nonprofit and convert it to a for-profit, that undermines all charitable giving in America,” Musk told Lane.
While Musk’s attorneys are vowing to appeal, both he and Altman are quickly moving to their next steps: IPOs. On Wednesday, Musk filed paperwork for his rocket company SpaceX—which includes his AI company xAI and Starlink satellite internet—to go public. The filing provides an unvarnished look into the cost of running an AI company. In 2025, xAI posted a $6.35 billion loss from operations, with just $3.2 billion in revenue. Last year, xAI’s capital expenditures were $12.7 billion. So far in 2026, xAI has lost $2.47 billion, made $818 million in revenue, and spent $7.7 billion in capital expenditures.
OpenAI hasn’t filed for its IPO yet, but reports indicate its bankers are preparing the first round of confidential paperwork to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wall Street Journal reported that the litigation with Musk was a major hurdle to clear before taking steps........
