EngineRoom ✳︎

EngineRoom operates as a growth partner rather than a traditional agency, combining Advisory, Agency, and Technology capabilities under one integrated model. The proprietary platform and AI CoPilot differentiate the business from execution-only agencies by closing the gap between marketing investment and revenue outcomes. Clients are predominantly SMEs and mid-market organizations across Australia that treat marketing as a commercial investment and expect transparency around ROI. The agency operates fully distributed, with Australian payroll employees supported by Employer of Record team members across multiple international locations, all integrated into unified systems and delivery workflows.

After more than a decade of building EngineRoom, founder Adam Laurie and his co-founders began exploring opportunities to find a strategic partner that could accelerate the commercialization and global scale of the agency’s proprietary AI platform, something that would have been significantly more difficult to achieve independently. The founders believed a larger organization with an established customer base and distribution infrastructure could unlock substantially more value from the platform while continuing to grow the core agency business.

For EngineRoom, the ideal acquirer needed to understand AI-driven technology, recurring revenue models, and the strategic value of connecting marketing intelligence to business outcomes. Preserving the agency’s platform roadmap, delivery standards, and strong team culture was essential. The right partner would bring an established customer base, distribution capabilities, and the infrastructure to commercialize the EngineRoom Platform at scale.

To prepare EngineRoom for market, Merge positioned the agency as a rare combination of a highly recurring, operationally mature marketing business and a differentiated AI platform with clear commercialization potential. The business stood out for its retainer-based revenue model, long-term client relationships, proprietary AI CoPilot technology, and a diversified client base with no single client representing an outsized share of revenue. EngineRoom’s expanding margins and award-winning culture further reinforced its strength as a platform-ready acquisition target.

Merge marketed EngineRoom as a compelling opportunity to acquire a technology-enabled growth marketing business with deeply recurring revenue, a proprietary AI platform, and a proven methodology. Buyers were drawn to the combination of stable, predictable cash flow and significant platform upside, including the potential to license the EngineRoom Platform as a standalone SaaS product to agencies and end-user businesses globally. The agency’s consistent Best Place to Work recognition, distributed operational model, and committed leadership team made the opportunity especially attractive to buyers seeking continuity alongside growth.

EngineRoom was acquired by CXAI, an AI-powered platform company focused on workplace operations and organizational intelligence. The acquisition strategically expanded CXAI’s AI capabilities with EngineRoom’s proprietary growth intelligence technology, highly recurring revenue base, and established mid-market customer relationships. By combining CXAI’s focus on AI-powered workplace operations with EngineRoom’s expertise in AI-driven marketing and customer acquisition, the combined organization created a more comprehensive AI operating platform designed to help organizations improve both operational efficiency and commercial performance.

Following the acquisition, EngineRoom gained access to CXAI’s established customer base, distribution infrastructure, and resources to accelerate the commercialization and global licensing of the EngineRoom Platform. The partnership created immediate cross-sell opportunities across both customer bases, and together the combined organization is positioned to grow recurring software revenue while delivering a more integrated AI operating platform to organizations globally.

Merge guided EngineRoom through a strategic, founder-focused acquisition process centered on platform value, long-term alignment, and finding a partner capable of unlocking the full potential of the agency’s technology. Through targeted buyer outreach, thoughtful positioning, and hands-on transaction support, Merge helped EngineRoom find the right strategic home with CXAI. The result is a strengthened AI platform business built to serve organizations globally with integrated intelligence across marketing, growth, and workplace operations.