Top Down Ventures is excited to announce its investment in Longwave, a comprehensive AI security and governance platform that enables Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to protect their clients from AI-related risks while turning security compliance into a profitable managed service.

No banker's checklist. No tradeshow platitudes. Just the real keys to exiting for maximum value, built from 25 years in the trenches. The MSP industry has created more bootstrapped millionaires than almost any other sector. But how much money have founders left on the table? Answer: a LOT. This month's Top Down Outliers blog breaks it all down.

This vendor version of The State of MSP Capital in the Age of AI explains how “managed intelligence” is changing the way MSP services are delivered and valued, and why MSPs are becoming the strategic interface between technology and customer productivity. It outlines what vendors must change across product, partner programs, and incentives to help MSPs monetize outcomes and efficiency instead of labor.

Top Down Ventures launches the 2026 Top Down Horizons MSP Investor Roadshow, an invitation only series of hosted hospitality, investor presentations, and networking events across North America and London, bringing together exited founders, high net worth investors, leading MSPs, and MSP software innovators.

“Exploring strategic alternatives” has become the go-to phrase when companies hit scale, but in the MSP space, the path to IPO or acquisition has been anything but typical. In this post, we explore: • Why MSPs are now seen as the operating system for global SMB tech, • What’s holding back exits at the top of the market, • How different buyer groups—from GSIs to AI leaders—are sizing up the space, • What it will take for the MSP industry to produce its own Shopify. We unpack it all in the first Outliers blog of 2026.

Managed services is becoming the operating layer for AI in the SMB economy, and capital is moving accordingly. This investor edition breaks down what is changing in MSP economics and market structure, plus a practical diligence playbook with the metrics and red flags that matter now.

We’re excited to share the latest edition of the Top Down newsletter, featuring fresh investments, portfolio milestones, and the growing momentum across the MSP-focused ecosystem. Dive in to catch up on the latest and see what’s ahead in 2026.

Corporate venture capital (CVC) has quietly powered growth for the world’s biggest tech firms, but in the MSP world, it’s been nearly absent - until now. In this post, we explore: • Why MSP platforms are increasingly exploring CVC programs, • Common barriers to building a CVC in-house, • How our CVC-as-a-Service model helps platforms tap into next-gen tools faster, • Real-world example: How ScalePad partnered with Top Down to accelerate strategic acquisitions. We explore it all in our final Outliers blog of 2025.

Top Down Ventures is proud to announce its strategic investment in UKON, the newly rebranded cyber‑insurance marketplace purpose-built to unite Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and insurance agents at the intersection of trust, protection, and growth.

Top Down Ventures, the first venture capital firm dedicated entirely to the managed services (MSP) software ecosystem, today announced the launch of Vibe Studio, a $2 million AI-first venture studio designed to co-build and fund early-stage founders building AI-native tools, platforms, and services for the MSP and SMB markets.

The report traces the managed services industry’s evolution across three epochs: Bootstrapping, Private Equity Industrialization, and Capital Efficiency and Intelligence, and identifies a fourth now emerging: the Next-Gen MSP. It explores how investors are transitioning from traditional financial engineering to operational intelligence, embedding automation and AI within portfolio companies to drive efficiency and value creation, rather than relying solely on consolidation for growth.

From friends & family to PE and Wall Street - Mark Scott breaks down the investor landscape for MSPs and SaaS founders, plus how to align expectations across the journey. Why is a $700B industry still overlooked by most VCs? How should founders manage investor relationships - and how should investors better support founders?