Investment market: Why companies are looking for partners rather than money

The investment market is shifting. After 50 meetings at SIGMA Rome, the Investments team of the RedCore business group returned with four key observations about how the investments landscape is evolving: founders have a clearer understanding of their challenges, and the conversation about investments has shifted from “We need cash” to “We need the right partner.” Ihor Denysov, COO Investments at RedCore, shares insights.

AI is everywhere, but only 5% are monetizing it

95% of the companies we spoke with talk about AI. However, once you dig deeper and ask how exactly they use these AIs, the picture starts to change.

Only 5% of companies are actually working on practical applications. They use machine learning to predict LTV, personalize experiences in real time based on behavior, dynamically manage rewards and risks through algorithms, and automate data-driven decision-making.

The rest simply have the AI somewhere in their Pitch Deck or Roadmap. Not a criticism, just an observation. The market is still figuring out how to use this technology.

For us, this means that iGaming continues to be an underserved market in terms of AI solutions that actually work. While companies recognize the necessity of this, not all of them fully understand how to implement it.

Web3 in iGaming has moved beyond the speculative phase

At previous conferences, discussions about Web3 in iGaming often revolved around NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and “new user experiences”. Pretty concepts, but it’s not always clear why users would need them.

At SIGMA Rome, the conversation was altogether different as projects discussed specific matters: how to improve KYC/AML using blockchain, how to make user balances decentralized and fully transparent, how to use smart contracts to automate bonuses, and how to increase the transparency of certain mechanisms.

This isn’t about a revolution. It’s about Web3 finally starting to address real industry problems. In iGaming, there has always been a certain tension between the operator and the user in terms of trust: the user is unsure whether the odds are fair, and the operator is unsure of the player’s trustworthiness. Web3 acts as a tool for transparency and non-manipulation here.

This isn’t a revolution. This is a slow but steady transformation of technology into a working tool. And for the first time in many years, Web3 is truly beginning to solve problems rather than making new promises.

The operations team is the main bottleneck

It’s simple. Many companies already have the money, traffic, product ideas, and basic traction. But they lack the people who can bring all this together into a sustainable business.

What you need are experts who can build processes, organize a team, manage a financial model, keep things running smoothly while growing, work within regulations and compliance, and scale up without any mess.

These are COOs and product leaders. These are experienced professionals who have already walked this path before.

The market is oversaturated with capital. However, the demand for operational talent far exceeds supply. That is why it is not investors who provide money and demand results that companies are looking for today, but partners who bring confidence in the operational side of things.

M&A-driven partnership as the market’s choice

This is the most important insight from SIGMA Rome. Companies are not just looking for financing; they are seeking a partner who can help them build a structure: processes, teams, financial models, everything.

They say: Don’t just give us money, give us people who know how the industry works. Give us access to your expertise. Help us create a structure that won’t fall apart as we grow. Make us profitable in six months rather than three years.

This is the M&A-driven Partnership Model:
● Cooperative business development
● Integration into the operating ecosystem
● Strengthening through group expertise
● Access to resources unavailable to individual teams
● M&A logic rather than VC logic

For companies in iGaming, MarTech, RegTech and other verticals, this has become a far more attractive model than VC as they realize that money is no longer a bottleneck. Competence is.

In this model, RedCore finds itself at a point of natural demand. Our network and operational expertise can solve most of the problems a startup will encounter. We do not need to seek external consultants, external solutions, or external partners—everything we need is in-house within the business group. This gives companies speed and expertise they can’t get anywhere else.

What we observed in practice

Of the 45 projects we reviewed, 21 were considered “promising”. Not because the others had bad ideas, but because 21 projects already had MVP+, proven traction, an experienced team capable of delivering on their commitments, and an understanding that they needed a partner rather than just a financier.

The rest were either at an earlier stage, not ready to be integrated into the business group, or still believed that money would solve all problems.

This is a healthy filter. The investment market is becoming more demanding because companies now know that investors need not only financing, but also partnership support. There are fewer irrelevant teams and more of those who grasp the rules of the game.

Another point worth noting: B2B platforms in iGaming have not stagnated; despite fierce competition, they continue to grow. This is because they are trying to solve a real problem—businesses need tools for management, integration, and automation, and there are still few good projects in this area.

Where the industry is headed: consolidation is inevitable

The general trend we are observing is market consolidation: strong platforms will bring together contractors and studios, product-focused teams will integrate into ecosystems, and B2B platforms will continue to grow despite fierce competition.

When capital is no longer scarce, companies begin to unite around structures capable of providing operational stability. This is natural.

Conclusion

SIGMA Rome showed that the market had grown — companies recognize their challenges and are looking for partners to help solve them.

This aligns with RedCore’s approach: we work with teams that have already proven their ability to create a product, and we help them grow through structured development, operational maturity, and collaborative business building.

We don’t invest in ideas.
We build businesses together with those who are ready to grow faster than the market.

Pitch your project to the RedCore team here.