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If you talk to anyone who works in the PE industry during this festive period, chances are you won’t catch a single person who doesn’t have AI on their mind.
Regardless, few firms have been confident in their AI deployment—whether it’s in the back office or in the portfolio.
According to the 2025 Frontline Insight Report by alternative investment platform provider Dynamo Software, only 7% of the almost 100 global LPs and GPs surveyed said they were using AI extensively. Another 29% reported that they had incorporated AI into some of their standard processes, while a substantial 59% of respondents indicated that they were at the early stages of AI exploration.
In 2026, more GPs will likely be under pressure, from investors and competitors alike, to prioritize AI as a matter of necessity, even survival. However, taking AI from concept to implementation is easier said than done.
I'm Emily Lai, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at emily.lai@pitchbook.com or on X @ThisIsEmilyLai.
There are concrete steps—or New Year’s resolutions—that fund managers can implement to keep ahead in the industry’s AI race.
First, data is the fuel for AI. For the technology to learn, find patterns and make predictions, GPs need to feed it with structured and accurate data. However, it is also a huge first step for GPs to begin collecting data from their own firm history and all their portfolio companies. To keep things simple, GPs should start by focusing on the data points that can drive value.
“We have such data overload right now, and everyone thinks that they can slice and dice information in so many different ways, but ultimately, what is the value-added outputs that you’re going to get to that are going to drive what and how you should be factoring your data?” said Jeff Welton, CFO & COO at Ark PES, developer of a cloud-based fund operation platform.
This can’t just be about today’s reporting needs; GPs also have to anticipate what LPs will be asking for in two years. That means ensuring the data collected is usable and easy to analyze. For example, it means extracting accurate, structured information from PDF documents—financial reports, board materials, cap tables and ownership data, compliance and regulatory filings, and more. |
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US PE-backed companies hoping to go public faced challenges in 2025, from tariffs to the government shutdown, which resulted in only mature, cash-generative companies testing the IPO waters. Which company raised the most money of all the PE-backed IPOs of 2025?
A) Medline
B) Venture Global
C) NielsenIQ
D) Smithfield Foods
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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A selection from our most-read articles of the past few days.
- After a drought in public listings, investors were hoping that 2025 would finally bring back a stream of IPOs to provide much-needed liquidity. But results were mixed. Full report
- The top five deals that sovereign funds participated in during 2025. View our list
- President Donald Trump, in the first 11 months of his second term, orchestrated what private markets investors view as the largest policy shift in years. Read the full story
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| (Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News) |
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“The last two years have been wild. We see some of the fastest-growing companies in history, but it’s never been harder for VCs to see through the noise of bloated numbers.”
—Marina Davidova, co-founder and managing partner at VC firm DVC, speaking about AI companies' reliance on ARR over valuations as a standard metric. Read more about the unpredictability of ARR and why VCs are struggling with inflated numbers here. |
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Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:
- Analyst Note: AI Propels Next Phase of Cybersecurity Investment
- Analyst Note: 2025 Impact Update
- Analyst Note: Commercial Aerospace Parts
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Answer: A
Medline, the medical supplies company backed by a multitude of PE investors including Blackstone, GIC and The Carlyle Group, raised $6.3 billion in its December IPO, making it the biggest of 2025. I Squared Capital-backed Venture Global went public in January at a higher valuation, but raised $1.8 billion. Read more about 2025's PE-backed IPOs here. |
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This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Emily Lai and Nadine Manske. It was edited by Andrew Woodman and Michael Bruning.
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