The Signal: August 29, 2026
8 articles
Kroll report kills Rule of 40: Growth now trumps margins in 2026 software M&A
- Kroll data shows growth matters more than margins in 2026 software M&A - Cursor's $60B deal accounts for half of H1 2026's $240B total deal value - Public multiples tick up but valuations vary wildly between similar subsectors
Lavender data shows A-grade emails to ops get 58% higher reply rates
- A-grade emails to ops leaders see 5.4% reply rate (58% lift) - Only 6.1% of finance emails earn Lavender's top grade - A emails to finance show highest lift at 79%
Cold Email Benchmarks: Finance Emails See 79% Lift with A-Grade Quality
- Only 6.1% of emails to finance earn Lavender’s A grade - A-grade emails to finance see a 79% reply rate lift - Lavender analyzed billions of emails across 50k active inboxes - Cold email benchmarks help sellers compare their performance
AI's 'Solve My Problem' Era: Why Search Engines Are Dying
- Marketing shifts from search to AI-driven problem-solving, making Google obsolete in 5 years. - Companies risk failure by using AI only for speed, not business model innovation. - Smaller firms win by mastering AI-driven solutions, while SEO becomes irrelevant. - AI agents will autonomously handle customer interactions, reshaping business engagement.
Rootstock launches procurement and sales AI agents in Summer 2026
- Rootstock deploys AI agents for procurement and sales - Summer 2026 release focuses on autonomous revenue operations
Cold Email Performance Benchmarks Show Reply Rate Gains
- A-level emails to operations see a 58% reply rate lift to 5.4% - Only 6.1% of emails to finance earn Lavender's A grade - A emails to finance see a 79% reply rate lift, the highest of any persona
Ops teams reply to 5.4% of A-grade cold emails: Lavender benchmark data
- A-grade emails to ops see 5.4% reply rates (58% lift) - Finance personas show highest lift (79%) but lowest A-grade rate (6.1%)
Video Email Framework Boosts Cold Outreach Effectiveness
- Operations reply rates jump 58% with A-level emails - Finance teams respond to just 6.1% of emails, but A grades see 79% lift - Lavender analyzed billions of emails across 50k inboxes for benchmarks