Behind the Scenes of Private Equity AI Priorities
For private equity firms, AI is now a critical competitive advantage. To protect margins and justify valuations in a compressed market, firms must be able to not just articulate an ambitious AI vision but implement that vision at scale.
Our recent report, Inside the Private Equity AI Playbook, highlighted the structural requirements for success, including how to set an impactful AI strategy, build an AI-ready technical foundation, and cultivate adoption at all levels. However, our latest engagement data reveals that those requirements are not the only areas on PE leaders’ minds.
The era of the AI pilot is being replaced by a disciplined focus on EBITDA impact. And while some firms remain caught in a cycle of broad strategic planning, those at the front of the pack are narrowing their focus to the functional integration of AI. They are targeting specific P&L line items — such as procurement, revenue management, and financial operations — with surgical precision. And the top priority today is immediate, hands-on implementation.
To understand the areas about which private equity leaders are most concerned, we analyzed internal Catalant call data from the past year. By categorizing the specific points of focus and the types of work highlighted by private equity deal teams and portfolio operations leaders, we’ve identified where the industry is actually placing its bets and where your peers are finding the most immediate returns.
The following data provides a direct look into the current PE AI priorities: the types of engagements with the most traction and the areas of explosive year-over-year growth, which indicate where leaders see value creation opportunities and where those opportunities are gaining momentum.
The Pulse of the PE Market: AI Priorities
While the broader market remains fixated on AI’s potential, private equity has entered a phase of disciplined, high-velocity execution. This data, derived from direct conversations with PE leaders, reveals a move toward aggressive, EBITDA-focused value creation at the portfolio level.
The AI Mandate: The Most Common AI Priorities
The following rankings, based on Catalant internal data, identify where PE firms are focusing to accelerate progress and create value. Leaders in the private equity space most frequently identify the following as priorities:
1. AI implementation for portcos
Building solutions and upskilling teams at portcos with AI
2. AI strategy for portcos
Embedding AI into 100-day plans and annual operating cycles
3. AI due diligence
Evaluating AI maturity and disruption risk for targets and acquisitions
4. AI talent/workforce
Building AI teams, coaching talent, and driving adoption
5. Function-specific AI
Implementing AI functionally for cost savings
6. Gen AI or LLM use cases
Driving adoption for low-barrier AI tools to build AI readiness
7. Process automation
Streamlining manual processes for aggressive cost reduction
The Momentum Index: Where the Market is Moving
While frequency tells us what is standard, YOY growth identifies what’s changing and where the next competitive advantage is being built. These four categories represent the fastest-growing priorities from those listed above, based on frequency of mention from PE leaders:
22x
The Functional Focus
Firms are homing in on function-specific AI, looking to resolve functional P&L pain points with AI.
18x
The Automation Mandate
As labor costs pressure margins, the urgency around process automation has accelerated.
17.5x
The Bias for Action
A rising focus on AI implementation for portcos reflects a market that wants working AI, not just theory.
14x
The Growing AI Risk
A surge in AI due diligence suggests AI risk is now treated with the same gravity as financial or legal risk.
Taking the next step
The transition from AI strategy to AI execution is a defining challenge for private equity firms. The firms that will lead at exit are those that treat AI as a permanent operational capability rather than a one-time tech upgrade. Success in this new environment requires more than just capital — it requires a rare blend of technical precision and human-centric change management.
At Catalant, we provide the bridge between high-level deal thesis and ground-level execution. We connect companies with the elite operators who thrive in this gap — true experts who can quantify risk during due diligence, stabilize legacy data foundations, and accelerate adoption for new AI tools and ways of working.
Are you ready to climb the AI maturity curve?
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