Five Back, His Brother, a 62

This week in GTM: a sales startup raised $60M to build software for robots, an Italian company got rich buying tech's dead brands, and on a Sunday in Silvis a kid with his brother on the bag shot 62 and stole a trophy nobody thought he could reach. Grab your coffee.

🏌️ THE DRIVE: Sales Software Now Sells to Robots

Aligned just raised a $60M Series B led by PeakSpan, and the pitch is wild: a deal workspace built for sellers, buyers, and their AI agents. Three parties at the table now, and one of them doesn't drink at the closing dinner. Their line: "There's no such thing as a complex sale, only a complex purchase." The old sales stack recorded the round after you played it. This one wants to be your caddie while you're standing over the shot.

⛳ THE FAIRWAY: Five Back, His Brother on the Bag, a 62

Chris Gotterup started Sunday five shots back at the John Deere Classic, shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 with his brother Patrick carrying the bag, then sat on the range at 20-under and waited. Ben Kohles, tied for the lead, rinsed his approach on 18 and made double. Third win of the year for Gotterup, tying Matt Fitzpatrick for most on Tour. Max Homa charged with a closing 64 and finished one short after missing birdie at the last.

🏴 THE GREEN: Somebody Got Rich Buying Tech's Corpses

Bending Spoons went public and closed up nearly 40% at a $25.7B market cap — right in the middle of the SaaSpocalypse. Their whole game is buying dead-ish brands like AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, Eventbrite, and Meetup, cutting hard, shipping features, raising prices. While everyone else panics about AI eating software, the Milan crew is over in the trees taking an unplayable, dropping, and making par. This week's Hole-in-One Award goes to the guys who found value in a graveyard.

🎙️ FROM THE CLUBHOUSE: SAP Cancels Your Trip to Fund a Robot

SAP just froze new hiring and non-AI travel to redirect the savings into a "significant push into AI." A company this size deciding your Q3 field trip pays for the model. If your own team is spending on things that don't move a number, this is your reminder that budget is just clubs in the bag — carry the ones you actually hit. Got a scoop, a SaaS tip, or a golf take for us? Send it over at gtmgolfclub.com and we'll put it on the green.

🍺 19TH HOLE INSIGHT

The Open tees off next week at Royal Birkdale, where the wind decides who's actually good and who was just getting soft-course results. Gotterup shot 62 and won. Homa shot 64 and lost. Same Sunday, one putt of difference. Your best quarter and your worst one are usually closer than the scoreboard makes them look.