Cherry Tree Education Capital Markets: AI Impact Report

As we look ahead to 2026, we expect AI to be a core catalyst driving M&A activity across the education sector. It’s easy to make blanket statements regarding AI in education. In reality, its impacts are nuanced and vary widely. That’s why we’re releasing our AI Impact Report which dives into each education sub-sector.

In this report we unpack the layers of AI impact with specificity across the market. We make predictions, expecting to be specifically wrong but directionally correct. We also address what we’re seeing across capital markets in relation to education businesses. This report has been fully composed by humans, with a little help in research and editing from AI. Reach out, we’d love to hear what you think.

Cherry Tree & Associates is a private investment banking firm headquartered in Minneapolis. Our firm specializes in serving middle market companies and their owners, whether private, public, or divisions of larger corporations.

Important Disclosures

The information included in this publication has been obtained from public sources, and is not based upon private or confidential Cherry Tree information. Cherry Tree gathers its data from sources it considers reliable. However, it does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided within this publication. Any opinions presented reflect the current judgment of the authors and are subject to change. Cherry Tree makes no warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy of this information or any opinions expressed by the authors. Officers, directors, partners of Cherry Tree and Cherry Tree proprietary investment funds may have positions in the securities of the companies discussed, and certain affiliates of Cherry Tree may recommend to specific clients the purchase and sale of securities discussed in the publication. This publication does not constitute a recommendation with respect to the securities of any company discussed herein, and it should not be construed as such. Cherry Tree or its affiliates may from time to time provide investment banking or related services to these companies. Like all Cherry Tree employees, the authors of this publication receive compensation that is affected by overall firm profitability. We undertake no obligation to update any information in this publication.