Beacon is betting AI can reinvent Main Street software

Over roughly the last two years, a company called Beacon has quietly acquired more than 40 software businesses serving market segments from campgrounds to labor unions to youth sports organizations. Beacon Software spruces up its portfolio companies’ offerings with the help of artificial intelligence, says founder and CEO Nilam Ganenthiran. That can mean adding AI features, modernizing software tools developed over decades, and using Beacon’s AI and data management software to aid in operatio...