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4. This Week in M&A Issue #194

This Week in M&A Issue #194

Greetings!

Today’s trend of the week is “school supplies”.  🎓

Back-to-school shopping is starting earlier than ever.

According to the National Retail Federation, 67% of families began shopping by early July, up from 55% last year and the highest rate since tracking began in 2018. Over half of families are shopping early, specifically to avoid potential price increases driven by tariffs.

This gives online sellers a chance to engage customers sooner in the season. Sellers can capitalize by offering time-sensitive discounts, bundling school essentials, and highlighting flexible payment options like buy-now-pay-later.

There is plenty of money to be made. Spending is expected to reach $39.4 billion for families with children in elementary through high school, and $88.8 billion for college-related purchases.

Top-selling categories include electronics, which lead across all age groups, followed by clothing, shoes, and school supplies.

Today we have for you:

• OpenAI to release AI-powered browser
• Amazon Web Services launches AI Agent marketplace

And:

• How to fund your SaaS startup the right way
• How to analyze a $1,000,000 business deal
• ChatGPT now shows Shopify products in search results

Alright, let’s dive in.

OpenAI

OpenAI is preparing to launch its own AI-powered web browser in the coming weeks, aiming to compete directly with Google Chrome, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Built on Chromium, the same open-source platform behind Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, the new browser will feature deep integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its AI agent, Operator.

Rather than functioning as a traditional browser, OpenAI’s product is designed to keep users inside a chat-like environment, where AI can handle tasks on their behalf. OpenAI has reportedly chosen to build a standalone browser rather than rely on third-party platforms, giving it greater access to data and more freedom to innovate.

If widely adopted by ChatGPT’s reported 500 million weekly users, the browser could threaten a critical pillar of Google’s business model. Chrome currently dominates the browser market with over 3 billion users and more than two-thirds of global market share. It also serves as a major channel for collecting user data, which feeds into Google’s highly profitable ad targeting system. By creating its own browser, OpenAI not only gains more control over user data but also positions itself to reduce Google’s grip on search and online advertising.

Competition in the AI browser space is intensifying. Just this week, rival startup Perplexity released its own Chromium-based browser, Comet, available to premium subscribers for $200 a month. Comet uses Perplexity’s AI search engine by default and includes an assistant similar to ChatGPT.

With increasing legal pressure on Google, such as a potential antitrust order to sell Chrome, OpenAI and other companies may soon have even more room to grow in the browser market.

The Opportunity Podcast

Not every SaaS startup begins with millions in funding, and that’s a good thing.

In this week’s podcast, we’re joined by Denise Edwards, founder of SaaS Launch, who helps early-stage SaaS founders figure out how (and if) they should raise capital.

We unpack the real-world pros and cons of bootstrapping vs fundraising, and Denise shares how to avoid the most common funding mistakes founders make. She explains what terms like dilutive and non-dilutive funding actually mean for your long-term growth, and how to know which one’s right for you.

Denise also shares how the right investor can offer more than just money: strategic insights, mentorship, and connections that can fast-track your success.

We wrap with a crash course on how to build a standout pitch that gets attention from the investors you actually want.

If you’re building a SaaS product and are unsure how to fund it, this episode is packed with clear, honest guidance.

Amazon

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching a new AI agent marketplace, with AI research company Anthropic as a key partner.

The marketplace will function like an app store for AI agents, allowing startups to list their agents while enterprise customers search, install, and pay for them based on their needs.

For developers, especially startups, the marketplace offers a clear path to revenue. Instead of bundling agents into larger enterprise packages, they can be sold individually, giving buyers more flexibility. AWS will take a small percentage of sales, but the trade-off is access to a large, global customer base. Tools like Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, an AI agent-building platform for businesses, will support seamless deployment, helping agents to scale reliably and securely.

Anthropic, already backed by an $8 billion investment from Amazon, stands to benefit significantly. The company primarily earns revenue through its API, which allows developers to build with its Claude AI models. Joining the AWS marketplace gives Anthropic direct access to AWS’s vast customer base and could help it compete more effectively with other major players like OpenAI.

AWS is following a broader industry trend. Google Cloud launched an AI agent marketplace in April, and Microsoft introduced a similar “Agent Store” for its 365 Copilot suite. Salesforce, ServiceNow, and others have also built agent-focused platforms, reflecting a growing demand for task-specific, easily deployable AI tools.

While it’s still early to judge how successful these marketplaces will be,  especially for smaller startups, the launch of AWS’s version signals a major step forward in democratizing access to agentic AI.

For many businesses, AI agents that once required complex, custom development could soon be available off-the-shelf, helping teams become faster, smarter, and more efficient.

Read All About It!

📢 Google June 2025 Core Update has finished rolling out: lots of volatility

📖 Favorite books of eCommerce entrepreneurs: reshape your career & outlook

📬 Scaling to 70K newsletter subscribers while working 9-5: growth without burnout

🚀 Amazon opens applications for 2025 AI accelerator: up to $1 million in AWS credits

YouTube

Most people think they need an MBA or years of experience to understand whether a business is worth buying, but that’s not true.

In our latest video, Greg reveals 5 simple financial red flags that even first-time buyers can use to instantly assess whether a business is worth pursuing, or if it’s time to walk away.

These are the same signals smart buyers use on our marketplace to make confident, profitable decisions, no finance degree required.

Watch now to learn how to spot hidden risk and uncover real opportunity in any deal.

eCommerce

OpenAI has quietly partnered with Shopify to boost the shopping capabilities inside ChatGPT.

The update, which wasn’t publicly announced, was spotted in OpenAI’s developer documentation on May 15, 2025, by SEO expert Aleyda Solís. This integration means ChatGPT can now display Shopify product listings directly in conversations, complete with images, prices, seller details, and reviews.

This update builds on OpenAI’s new shopping feature, launched on April 28, which allows users to search for products and see detailed results right inside ChatGPT. Adding Shopify gives these results more depth and variety.

While Shopify and Bing are the only platforms officially listed as data sources, users have noticed products from other eCommerce sites too, like Turbify (formerly Yahoo Stores). This suggests OpenAI may be pulling in data from a wider range of online stores. These listings likely rely on structured data (like Schema markup), and sometimes ChatGPT adds its own summaries or review highlights.

For Shopify store owners, this is a big opportunity. Their products can now show up in AI-powered chats, putting them in front of potential buyers in a whole new way. As people turn to tools like ChatGPT for product research, this could become as important as ranking on Google.

With Shopify in its corner, OpenAI is quietly but clearly aiming to be a major player in AI-driven commerce.