Bringing the next generation of AI-enabled automation, integration, and service delivery to MSPs was a major part of New Charter Technologies' decision to acquire Orchestrate AI Labs.
New Charter, a portfolio company of Palo Alto-based private equity firm Oval Partners, acquired Orchestrate AI for an undisclosed price, according to a press release. Orchestrate AI has been operating in stealth mode since its 2023 founding.
Ryan Barton, the co-founder and outgoing CEO of Orchestrate AI, now serves as New Charter’s chief innovation officer and is tasked with spearheading the organizational and technological transition that will come through the acquisition.
“New Charter has a unique opportunity to pioneer the next generation of AI-enabled service delivery” for MSPs, Barton told ChannelE2E. “We have the scale to invest in this kind of leadership, team, and technology, and we have the agility of nearly 30 MSPs led by entrepreneurs committed to evolution and change for the sake of their clients and teams.”
To help make this happen, New Charter is investing in an innovation center that leverages Orchestrate AI’s proprietary technology and other best-in-class industry tooling to bring the expanding power of AI to its MSPs and clients, he said.
“I think most business leaders realize that AI is changing core assumptions about not just the MSP industry, but about the entire knowledge economy,” said Barton. “What we are committed to is the hard work of internal change, of business process reinvention, and of technical integration of AI and innovation, and to doing it at scale.”
The companies plan to use the acquisition, he said, to drive an ongoing integration between business processes, custom software, AI models, and strategy to allow them to further bring AI into daily processes.
“We see technology as something that helps people to do more and to live well,” said Barton. “AI must never be the center or the purpose, but always something that helps our team do more, have more compelling opportunities, and serve our clients in incredible ways.”
AI Frenzy Feels A Bit like Dot-Com 2.0 Hysteria: Analyst
Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, told ChannelE2E that he sees the Orchestrate AI's acquisition by New Charter Technologies as a potentially positive move for both companies and for MSPs.
“Right now, AI is a bit like the [turbulent] dot-com days, but with AI, there is a feeding frenzy to get in on the AI wave,” said Enderle. “However, investment firms only make money if the investment pans out so this should assure that Orchestrate AI Labs will get the money it needs to grow and have access to better experiences.”
Meanwhile, “Oval Partners, the parent company of New Charter Technologies, appears to have a relatively positive reputation, so I do not see any red flags, though investment firms in general do not yet completely understand AI.”
One danger that occurred frequently during the heady dot-com days was that startups were often acquired by private equity firms that were so eager to make investments that the deals were often not fully investigated and validated, he said.
There is no evidence of this happening in this Orchestrate AI deal, “but it was a common problem with the dot-com investment firms and this problem could emerge again,” said Enderle, with regard to the broader AI market. “In general, this is a positive move for Orchestrate AI Labs and the firms that depend on them, including MSPs.”
What’s Behind New Charter Technologies
Founded in 2019, New Charter Technologies is an IT services platform built through acquisitions that combine to bring together more than 20 of North America’s experienced MSPs to better serve customers. Under New Charter’s leadership, the MSPs grow through strategic acquisitions while retaining their individual brands.
