Private Equity: Value Creation Under New Rate Regimes | Global Conference 2026

Why It Matters

AI’s modest but real impact forces private‑equity firms to rethink investment theses, prioritize data advantages, and adjust valuation expectations, reshaping deal‑making and exit strategies across the industry.

Key Takeaways

• AI adoption in PE remains experimental, not yet transformative.
• Data assets give incumbents a competitive edge in AI-driven decisions.
• Portfolio AI experiments yield modest ~5% EBITDA uplift, not hype.
• Software SaaS valuations face pressure; focus on entrenched moats.
• Multi‑sector specialist firms better positioned to triage AI opportunities.

Summary

The panel explored how private‑equity firms are creating value amid shifting rate environments, with a heavy focus on artificial intelligence and software investments. Participants acknowledged that while every GP is experimenting with AI, most initiatives remain in early‑stage testing rather than delivering wholesale transformation.

Key insights highlighted the strategic importance of proprietary data sets, which give incumbents a decisive edge in AI‑driven decision‑making. KKR reported running 130 live AI experiments across a 225‑company portfolio, generating roughly a 5% EBITDA lift—far below the headline‑grabbing hype. Challenges such as prioritizing experiments, diffusing successful models, and avoiding “yellow‑page”‑style commoditization of SaaS were repeatedly emphasized.

Notable examples included KKR’s vendor‑application matrix for AI pilots, a partnership with Anthropic to accelerate diffusion, and a discussion of a university‑focused software platform that retains value through deep institutional entrenchment. Speakers warned that software multiples, which have behaved like growing perpetuities, are now compressing, prompting a shift away from high‑leverage, R&D‑cutting strategies.

The consensus is that private‑equity firms must double down on data‑centric AI, adopt a patient, multi‑sector specialist approach, and recalibrate valuation models to reflect lower exit multiples. Those that can triage capital efficiently and protect moats will thrive, while laggards risk being left behind in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Original Description

Watch all 2026 Global Conference session replays: https://milkeninstitute.org/events/global-conference-2026/program

Hugh MacArthur

Senior Partner and Chairman, Global Private Equity Practice, Bain & Company

Joe Baratta

Global Head, Private Equity Strategies, Blackstone

Martín Escobari

Co-President and Head of Global Growth Equity, General Atlantic

Raoul Hughes

CEO, Bridgepoint Group

Meredith Jenkins

Chief Investment Officer, Trinity Church NYC

Pete Stavros

Co-head, Global Private Equity, KKR