Articles
Data Center Boom Brings New Patent Risk for Owners
With more than 4,000 data centers currently operating in the U.S. and nearly a trillion dollars in U.S. capital investment …
May 27, 2026
May 27, 2026 • 1-minute read
Tigist Kassahun
Partner
Technology Transactions & Intellectual Property
Overview
Tigist Kassahun is a partner in the Technology Transactions & Intellectual Property group. Tigist is experienced in leading intellectual property and technology transactions and advising clients on the intellectual property, technology, data privacy and cybersecurity aspects of mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. She also regularly counsels clients on structuring and negotiating commercial arrangements for the development, licensing, and commercialization of IP, artificial intelligence, data and technology assets. She represents a broad range of clients across the technology, financial services, arts, media, private equity, manufacturing, consumer products, healthcare and insurance industries. The following experience includes matters handled prior to joining Vinson & Elkins.
Roku, a U.S. streaming platform, in its acquisition of Frndly TV, a subscription streaming service
Presidio, a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice portfolio company, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Contender Solutions, an Elite ServiceNow partner
Konica Minolta, a Japanese multinational equipment and materials manufacturer operating in the healthcare and industrial industries, in the $600 million sale of its subsidiary, Ambry Genetics, to Tempus AI
The Standard in its acquisition of The Allstate Corporation’s Employer Voluntary Benefits business in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion
Konica Minolta, a Japanese multinational equipment and materials manufacturer operating in the healthcare and industrial industries, in the sale of its subsidiary Invicro to Calyx, a portfolio company of CapVest and leading technology-enabled provider
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in its acquisition of a majority stake in the industrial businesses of Roper Technologies, which operates market-leading businesses that design and develop vertical software and application-specific products, in a transaction valued at $3.7 billion
Carestream Dental, a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice portfolio company and leading provider of dental technology, in the $600 million carve-out sale of its Scanning Technology business to Envista, a leading global dental products company
Carlyle, as majority owner of Syniverse, in Syniverse’s $2.85 billion merger, later terminated, with special purpose acquisition company M3-Brigade Acquisition II Corp. resulting in Syniverse becoming a publicly traded company
Discovery, Inc. in the acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction that values the combined entity at approximately $130 billion
Blackstone in its investment in Ginger, a leader in on-demand behavioral healthcare
Carlyle, as majority owner of Syniverse, in Twilio’s $750 million investment in Syniverse
Toyota Motor Corporation, as an investor in Uber Technologies’ self driving unit Advanced Technologies Group (Uber ATG), in its sale of Uber ATG to Aurora
Gogo, the leading inflight Internet company, in the successful sale of its commercial aviation business to Intelsat, which was in Chapter 11 at the time of the transaction
Toyota Motor Corporation in its $394 million investment in Joby Aviation, an aerospace company that is developing and commercializing all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to enable the deployment of fast, quiet and affordable air taxi services
Prudential Financial in its $2.35 billion acquisition of Assurance IQ
Amazon as strategic partner to Yankee Global Enterprises in the acquisition of the YES Network from The Walt Disney Company at a total enterprise value of $3.47 billion
Centerbridge Partners in its investment in GoHealth
Toyota Motor Corporation in its joint investment, with DENSO Corporation and SoftBank Vision Fund, in Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group
Providence Service Corporation and LogistiCare in LogistiCare’s acquisition of Circulation, a provider of technology-enabled logistics solutions and analytics for managing non-emergency transportation across healthcare
Carlyle in its strategic minority investment in DiscoverOrg, the leading global sales and marketing intelligence platform
Verizon in its $3.1 billion acquisition of Straight Path Communications, a leading wireless spectrum holder
Credentials
Education
- University of California at Berkeley, 2015, J.D.
- Pomona College, 2010, B.A.
Admissions
- New York
- District of Columbia
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), “Ones to Watch,” (New Yorks): Corporate Law, 2023–2027; Intellectual Property Law, 2026 and 2027
Insights
Client Alerts
Colorado Retools Its Artificial Intelligence Law
Nearly two years after passing one of the nation’s first AI governance laws, Colorado is set to substantially revise the …
May 22, 2026
May 22, 2026 • 4-minute read
Client Alerts
On March 30, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-5-26 (the “Order”), directing state agencies to develop new …
March 31, 2026
March 31, 2026 • 5-minute read
Client Alerts
Federal AI Executive Order Addresses State–Federal Regulatory Tensions
On December 11, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) addressing the relationship between federal artificial intelligence policy and state-level AI regulation.
December 15, 2025 • V&E Artificial Intelligence Update
December 15, 2025 • 4-minute read
