Buy an online business built on AI with a clear deal route
Buying an AI SaaS, agent, app or website is easier when the numbers are verified at the source and every step of the deal sits in one place. This guide walks through the route on Acquisitions, from setting your thesis to the handover, so you know what to check and when.
The deal route at a glance
Every acquisition on Acquisitions follows the same stops. You can move faster or slower at each one, but the order stays the same.
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Define your thesis and budget..
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Search verified listings and save deal alerts..
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Request an NDA and review the unlocked details..
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Talk to the seller and send an offer or an LOI..
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Run due diligence with a checklist built for AI products..
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Close through an independent licensed escrow provider..
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Complete the handover and take control..
Step 1. Define what you want to buy
Start with a thesis. Decide which category you understand, how much you can invest, how many hours per week you can give the business and what return you expect. A clear thesis saves weeks of browsing listings that never fit.
- Category, for example AI SaaS, AI agents, AI-built apps, websites, micro SaaS or .ai domains.
- Budget, including the purchase price and working capital for the first months.
- Minimum MRR, growth and maximum churn you accept.
- Tolerance for model dependency and the share of revenue spent on inference.
On the Acquirer and Fund plans you save theses and reuse them as filters and deal alerts.
Step 2. Search verified AI business listings
Browse Verified AI business listings and filter by MRR, growth, churn, price, revenue multiple, category, stack, model provider, inference cost share and geography. Metrics with a source badge come from the seller's payment processor and analytics through read-only connections, so you are not reading numbers typed into a form. Save a search as a deal alert and new matching listings reach your inbox. Category pages such as SaaS businesses for sale, AI agents for sale and Micro SaaS marketplace help you narrow the field.
Step 3. Request an NDA and review the details
Public listings show category, metric ranges and a description, without the brand or domain. When a listing fits, send an NDA request in the app. The seller sees your plan and stated thesis and approves or declines. After approval you see the name, the domain, exact metrics and the details the seller unlocks. Scout includes 10 NDA requests per month, Acquirer and Fund include unlimited NDA requests.
Step 4. Value the business and make an offer
Before you talk price, run an indicative valuation. The estimator uses public market multiples for the category and adjusts for growth, churn, margin after model and hosting costs, size and owner dependency. Read the method on SaaS valuation multiples. The result is an indicative estimate, not an appraisal and not investment advice. Then message the seller, ask your questions and send an offer. On Acquirer and Fund the LOI builder turns your terms into a structured letter of intent covering price, structure, exclusivity, diligence period and transition support.
Step 5. Run due diligence on an AI business
Due diligence confirms that what you saw is what you buy. For AI products it goes beyond revenue.
- Revenue and retention, reconciled against the verified source data.
- Costs, including model provider and hosting costs as a share of revenue.
- Model dependency, terms of service of the model provider and the effort to switch.
- Code, infrastructure, accounts and API keys that transfer.
- Data rights, privacy obligations and customer contracts.
- Owner time, documentation and who knows how the prompts and pipelines work.
Use the SaaS due diligence checklist to track each item. Acquirer and Fund include due diligence checklists inside each deal.
Step 6. Close through escrow
Acquisitions never holds funds. When both sides choose the escrow route, an independent licensed escrow provider holds your payment until the agreed conditions are met, typically the transfer of the domain, code, accounts and revenue streams. The purchase agreement is between you and the seller, and we recommend your own legal counsel for it.
Step 7. Take over with a handover checklist
The handover checklist lists every asset and account to move, with the seller and buyer each confirming the transfer. Agree on a transition period in the LOI, for example a few weeks of seller support, so knowledge moves along with the code.
Buyer plans for every stage of the search
All buyer plans are subscriptions. Annual billing is the default and saves 50%.
- Scout, 49 USD per month or 24 USD per month billed annually. Listings up to 250k USD asking price, verified metrics, 10 NDA requests per month, deal alerts, 20 valuation estimates per month.
- Acquirer, 149 USD per month or 74 USD per month billed annually. All listing sizes, unlimited NDA requests, LOI builder, due diligence checklists, saved theses, 100 valuation estimates per month.
- Fund, 399 USD per month or 199 USD per month billed annually. 5 seats with roles, SSO, audit log, shared pipeline, data export, invoicing, priority verification requests, 500 valuation estimates per month.
Valuation estimates and NDA requests are counted per billing period. Compare both tracks on Pricing for buyers and sellers.
FAQ
It depends on the category and size. Small AI-built sites, apps and micro SaaS sell for much less than established AI SaaS companies. Plan for the purchase price plus working capital for the first months. The Scout plan covers listings up to 250k USD asking price, and Acquirer covers all sizes.
No. Acquisitions is a listing and deal-workflow platform. It is not a broker-dealer, it is not an investment adviser and it does not give investment advice. You make your own decisions, ideally with your own advisors.
Metrics with a source badge come from the seller's payment processor and analytics through read-only connections. You still confirm them in due diligence, but you start from data pulled from the source rather than screenshots.
Smaller deals can move from NDA to handover in a few weeks. Larger companies take longer because diligence, legal review and the transition need more time.
Acquisitions never holds funds. On the escrow route an independent licensed escrow provider holds the payment and releases it to the seller after the agreed conditions are met.
A letter of intent sets out the price, structure, exclusivity and timeline before full diligence. It is usually non-binding on price but signals serious intent. The LOI builder is part of the Acquirer and Fund plans.
Start your search with verified numbers
Browse verified listings or estimate the value of a business you have in mind.