Research
What private equity firms say about AI, and what they show.
We read the websites of 1,115 US private equity firms in September 2026. 46% mention AI. 17% say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own. 11 show a result at a named portfolio company.
- 01
46% of the 1,115 US private equity firms we read mention AI somewhere on their websites.
- 02
193 firms, 17%, say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own.
- 03
77 firms, 7%, name a job on their own team with AI in its title.
- 04
11 firms describe AI at work inside a named portfolio company and say what changed. 6 of them give a number.
- 05
653 firms show an operating team. 481 of them, 74%, say nothing about AI in how they improve companies.
- 06
Size tracks the claim. 42% of firms with more than $10 billion in private funds put AI in their value creation, against 7% of firms with less than $100 million.
- 07
In New England, 28 of 128 firms put AI in their value creation, and 3 show a result at a named company.
1,1151,115 US private equity firms. We read each one's website.
653653 show an operating team: operating partners, operating executives, or a value-creation or portfolio-operations group.
46%46% mention AI somewhere on the site, which comes to 508 firms.
193193 say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own.
7777 name a job on their own team with AI in its title.
1111 show AI at work inside a named portfolio company and say what changed.
The bigger the fund, the more likely AI is in the playbook.
Share of firms in each size band that say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own. Size is the gross assets of a firm's private funds.
- Over $10B
- 42% (37 of 89)
- $2B to $10B
- 29% (63 of 215)
- $500M to $2B
- 14% (46 of 329)
- $100M to $500M
- 11% (35 of 314)
- Under $100M
- 7% (12 of 168)
The 11 results, in the firms' own words.
Each one describes AI at work inside a named portfolio company and says what changed. 6 give a number.
Mistplay
“AI/ML investments in the core business … grown the core business by 3x+”
Rylee + Cru
“artificial intelligence (AI) was now handling some 40% of customer service inquiries”
ATTOM Data Solutions
“Reduced data acquisition cost by 80% through investment in automated data collection and AI-enabled automated”
Netcraft
“Leveraging ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, sales reps have doubled proof-of-concept win rates”
Hexure
“the majority of his organization is using Copilot … efficiency is up 45% in development”
Blueground
“AI agents are saving on-call developers up to 15 minutes per alert by providing context”
Black Tiger
“an AI-built product capability directly secured and expanded a major enterprise relationship”
Aprio
“Aprio has moved AI from concept to reality … delivering measurable financial results”
Cornerstone OnDemand
“turn customer conversations into presentations, architecture options, and working prototypes in days”
TransTech
“how the AI agent has transformed the sales function of North Carolina-based TransTech”
Savastano Kaufman Advisors
“an AI tool that has allowed me to drastically reduce the amount of time”
77 firms name an AI job on their own team.
The title as the firm writes it, largest funds first. People are not named.
- Advent InternationalSenior Advisor for AI Innovation
- AEA InvestorsHead of AI Solutions
- Berkshire PartnersOperating Partner, Head of Data Science and AI
- Charlesbank Capital PartnersAdvisory Director, AI
- Francisco PartnersAI and Systems Architect
- Genstar CapitalHead of AI & Data Science
- Great Hill PartnersDirector of AI
- H.I.G. CapitalManaging Director, AI & Commercial
- Hellman & FriedmanChief AI Officer
- HGGCAI Operating Partner of VET
- JLL PartnersChief AI Officer
- JMI EquityHead of Product & AI Strategy
- KohlbergOperating Executive, Head of AI & Data
- Patient Square CapitalManaging Director, Head of AI Transformation
- Ridgemont Equity PartnersDirector of AI Innovation
- Silver LakeManaging Director and Head of AI
- Summit PartnersHead of AI
- The Riverside CompanyDirector, AI Acceleration
- TJCDirector of Data and AI
- Veritas CapitalAI Forward Deployed Engineer
- AmpersandVice President, Data & AI
- Avance Investment ManagementVice President of AI
- BayPineOperating Principal, Head of Data Analytics & AI
- BC PartnersPrincipal, Data & AI
- Brightstar Capital PartnersVice President, AI Business Transformation Lead
- Diversis CapitalAI Operating Partner
- FFL PartnersFunctional Expertise: Agentic AI
- Frazier Healthcare PartnersCoE - Partner, Data & Artificial Intelligence
- Gemspring CapitalDirector of AI Initiatives
- Graham PartnersDirector, AI Strategy and Implementation
- GrowthCurve CapitalChief AI Architect
- Gryphon InvestorsHead of AI
- Haveli InvestmentsAI Analyst
- Level EquityOperating Partner, Tech & AI
- Levine Leichtman Capital PartnersHead of Digital and AI Value Creation
- Lovell MinnickHead of Strategic Initiatives & AI
- Mainsail PartnersHead of AI Innovation
- Pacific Avenue Capital PartnersHead of Artificial Intelligence, Principal
- Plexus CapitalData and AI Engineer
- QHP CapitalOperating Partner – AI Enablement
- Revelstoke Capital PartnersDirector, AI & Data Science, Portfolio Transformation Group
- Sentinel Capital PartnersManaging Director, Head of AI
- Shore Capital PartnersDirector, AI
- Spectrum EquityAI Lead
- Trive CapitalVice President, AI & Analytics
- Warren Equity PartnersManaging Director and Head of AI & Strategy
- Waud Capital PartnersChief AI and Data Officer
- WestCapAI & Technology Practice Lead
- WindRose Health InvestorsHealthcare Data/AI
- YellowWoodE-COMMERCE, DIGITAL & AI
- Allied Industrial PartnersAPEX Operating Partner - TECHNOLOGY & AI
- Blue Star Innovation PartnersAI Architect
- EndeavourHead of AI
- Inverness GrahamPrincipal, Artificial Intelligence
- Martis CapitalVice President, Automation & AI – Value Creation
- MC PartnersHead of AI & Platform
- New State Capital PartnersOperating Partner, AI Solutions
- Northlane CapitalPrincipal, Technology & AI - Value Creation Group
- One Bow RiverChief AI Officer
- SBJ CapitalAssociate, AI Strategy
- Sheridan Capital PartnersDirector of Digital and AI Transformation
- Sunstone PartnersAI Architect
- Ardan EquityChief AI & Data Officer
- ConselloChief Data & AI Officer
- Halo PartnersManaging Director, Data & AI, Aura Equity Acceleration Team
- Hughes and CompanyHead of Product & AI Transformation
- IMB PartnersHead of AI and Automation
- Owner Resource GroupDirector of Artificial Intelligence, Corporate Resource Group
- Savant GrowthAI Lead
- TiliaManaging Director, Head of AI & Data
- Wingman Growth PartnersAI Engineer
- 25madisonPrincipal AI Engineering Manager
- EmergingAI Strategy Director
- Emko CapitalEngineering & AI
- Hargett HunterAI Analyst
- SAXECAPLead AI Strategist
- Tortuga Growth PartnersOperating Partner, AI and Technology Enablement
What the largest firms say.
“Today, we see AI as a principle means of adding value to our companies”
“Clearlake AI Labs, the Firm's dedicated in-house team focused on supporting management teams”
“In-house team of AI engineers and specialists that rapidly designs, builds, and monetizes Agentic AI”
“AI enablement plays a central role in the firm’s long-term approach to value”
“Summit Partners helps portfolio companies approach AI thoughtfully and pragmatically through active board involvement”
“targeted implementations of machine learning and automation solutions that deliver tangible improvements”
“collaborate closely with Genstar's portfolio companies to optimize their AI strategies”
“providing in-depth knowledge and support in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to talent acquisition”
So what
653 operating teams. 11 results on the page.
For an operating partner
74% of the firms that show an operating team say nothing about AI in how they improve companies.
11 of 1,115 firms point to a named company and say what AI changed there, and 6 give a number. A fund that can show one company and one number shows something almost no one else in the market does.
For a portfolio company CEO
83% of the firms we read do not say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own. Most owners have not put an AI plan in public.
The ones that have are mostly the largest. 42% of firms with more than $10 billion in private funds say it, against 7% of firms with less than $100 million.
A result for one of your companies.
We work with operating partners on one portfolio company at a time: find the AI work worth doing, build it, and measure what it changed. How that fits a fund is on AI consulting for private equity.
The data.
Every firm we measured, one per row, with its own words and the page they came from in the CSV.
Download the data (CSV)How we did it
The list comes from the SEC's register of investment advisers for September 2026. It shows 3,523 advisers based in the United States that manage at least one private equity fund. We merged advisers that share a website into one firm and kept firms whose private funds are mostly private equity funds by count. That left 2,297 firms. Size is the gross assets of a firm's private funds as reported to the SEC. Two well-known buyout firms, TA Associates and L Catterton, file their funds under other categories and are not on the list.
We read the sites on September 22 and 23, 2026. For each firm a reader took the homepage and up to 44 more pages: the pages that describe the firm's approach and value creation, its team pages, every page whose address names AI, and recent news. Where a filing pointed to the wrong site, such as a sub-brand or an old domain, we read the firm's own site from the other addresses on its filing. That applied to 23 firms. 2,041 of the 2,297 sites could be read. Blackstone, Carlyle, Clearlake Capital and Sycamore Partners block automated readers, so their sites were read in a browser.
926 of those firms turned out not to buy or back operating companies: funds of funds, secondaries, credit, real estate, infrastructure, venture capital and wealth managers. That leaves 1,115 firms.
Each firm was coded against a fixed rubric by AI models reading the saved pages. Every yes carries the firm's own words, a quote of 15 words or fewer, and the page it came from. A script checked every quote against the saved text and turned any yes it could not find into a no. We read every claimed result by hand and kept only those that describe AI at work inside a named portfolio company and say what changed. A portfolio company's AI product, or what that product does for its customers, does not count. 44 answers were changed by hand, each with a written reason.
This measures what firms say on their own websites. A firm can do serious AI work and not publish it, and a firm can publish more than it does. People are never named. Job titles are.
The data is the table below and the CSV, released under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Fulkerson Advisors. If your firm's site says something we missed, email info@fulkersonadvisors.com and we'll read it again.
The 1,115 firms
| Firm | HQ | Private funds | Operating team | AI on the site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloom Equity Partners | NY | Under $100M | Yes | A result at Black Tiger |
| Charlesbank Capital Partners | MA | Over $10B | Yes | A result at Aprio |
| Clearlake Capital | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A result at Cornerstone OnDemand |
| GrowthCurve Capital | NY | $2B to $10B | Yes | A result at Mistplay |
| NCL Partners | TX | $100M to $500M | Yes | A result at TransTech |
| Permanent Equity | MO | $500M to $2B | Yes | A result at Rylee + Cru |
| Renovo Capital | TX | $500M to $2B | Yes | A result at ATTOM Data Solutions |
| Spectrum Equity | MA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A result at Netcraft |
| Springdale Industries | NY | $500M to $2B | A result at Savastano Kaufman Advisors | |
| THL | MA | Over $10B | Yes | A result at Hexure |
| WestCap | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A result at Blueground |
| 25madison | NY | Under $100M | Yes | A role: Principal AI Engineering Manager |
| Advent International | MA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Senior Advisor for AI Innovation |
| AEA Investors | NY | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Head of AI Solutions |
| Allied Industrial Partners | TX | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: APEX Operating Partner - TECHNOLOGY & AI |
| Ampersand | MA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Vice President, Data & AI |
| Ardan Equity | FL | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Chief AI & Data Officer |
| Avance Investment Management | NY | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Vice President of AI |
| BayPine | MA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Operating Principal, Head of Data Analytics & AI |
| BC Partners | NY | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Principal, Data & AI |
| Berkshire Partners | MA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Operating Partner, Head of Data Science and AI |
| Blue Star Innovation Partners | TX | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: AI Architect |
| Brightstar Capital Partners | NY | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Vice President, AI Business Transformation Lead |
| Consello | NY | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Chief Data & AI Officer |
| Diversis Capital | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: AI Operating Partner |
| Emerging | IL | Under $100M | Yes | A role: AI Strategy Director |
| Emko Capital | PA | Under $100M | Yes | A role: Engineering & AI |
| Endeavour | OR | $500M to $2B | A role: Head of AI | |
| FFL Partners | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Functional Expertise: Agentic AI |
| Francisco Partners | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: AI and Systems Architect |
| Frazier Healthcare Partners | WA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: CoE - Partner, Data & Artificial Intelligence |
| Gemspring Capital | CT | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Director of AI Initiatives |
| Genstar Capital | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Head of AI & Data Science |
| Graham Partners | PA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Director, AI Strategy and Implementation |
| Great Hill Partners | MA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Director of AI |
| Gryphon Investors | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Head of AI |
| H.I.G. Capital | FL | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Managing Director, AI & Commercial |
| Halo Partners | CA | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Managing Director, Data & AI, Aura Equity Acceleration Team |
| Hargett Hunter | NC | Under $100M | Yes | A role: AI Analyst |
| Haveli Investments | TX | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: AI Analyst |
| Hellman & Friedman | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Chief AI Officer |
| HGGC | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: AI Operating Partner of VET |
| Hughes and Company | IL | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Head of Product & AI Transformation |
| IMB Partners | MD | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Head of AI and Automation |
| Inverness Graham | PA | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: Principal, Artificial Intelligence |
| JLL Partners | NY | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Chief AI Officer |
| JMI Equity | MD | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Head of Product & AI Strategy |
| Kohlberg | NY | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Operating Executive, Head of AI & Data |
| Level Equity | NY | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Operating Partner, Tech & AI |
| Levine Leichtman Capital Partners | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Head of Digital and AI Value Creation |
| Lovell Minnick | PA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Head of Strategic Initiatives & AI |
| Mainsail Partners | TX | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Head of AI Innovation |
| Martis Capital | DC | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: Vice President, Automation & AI – Value Creation |
| MC Partners | MA | $500M to $2B | A role: Head of AI & Platform | |
| New State Capital Partners | NY | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: Operating Partner, AI Solutions |
| Northlane Capital | MD | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: Principal, Technology & AI - Value Creation Group |
| One Bow River | CO | $500M to $2B | Yes | A role: Chief AI Officer |
| Owner Resource Group | TX | $100M to $500M | Yes | A role: Director of Artificial Intelligence, Corporate Resource Group |
| Pacific Avenue Capital Partners | CA | $2B to $10B | Yes | A role: Head of Artificial Intelligence, Principal |
| Patient Square Capital | CA | Over $10B | Yes | A role: Managing Director, Head of AI Transformation |
Cite this study
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What Private Equity Firms Say About AI, and What They Show: 1,115 US Firm Websites Read. Read September 22 and 23, 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/ai-in-private-equity
Use any of these numbers or quotes. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Questions
How many private equity firms use AI in value creation?
On their own websites, 17% of the 1,115 US private equity firms we read in September 2026 say AI is part of how they improve the companies they own. 46% mention AI somewhere.
Which private equity firms show AI results at portfolio companies?
11 of the 1,115 firms describe AI at work inside a named portfolio company and say what changed: GrowthCurve Capital (Mistplay), Permanent Equity (Rylee + Cru), Renovo Capital (ATTOM Data Solutions), Spectrum Equity (Netcraft), THL (Hexure), WestCap (Blueground), Bloom Equity Partners (Black Tiger), Charlesbank Capital Partners (Aprio), Clearlake Capital (Cornerstone OnDemand), NCL Partners (TransTech), Springdale Industries (Savastano Kaufman Advisors).
Which private equity firms have a head of AI or an AI operating partner?
77 firms name a job on their own team with AI in its title. Among the largest: Advent International (Senior Advisor for AI Innovation), AEA Investors (Head of AI Solutions), Berkshire Partners (Operating Partner, Head of Data Science and AI), Charlesbank Capital Partners (Advisory Director, AI), Francisco Partners (AI and Systems Architect), Genstar Capital (Head of AI & Data Science), Great Hill Partners (Director of AI), H.I.G. Capital (Managing Director, AI & Commercial).
Do smaller private equity firms talk about AI?
Over $10B: 42% of 89 firms put AI in their value creation. $2B to $10B: 29% of 215 firms put AI in their value creation. $500M to $2B: 14% of 329 firms put AI in their value creation. $100M to $500M: 11% of 314 firms put AI in their value creation. Under $100M: 7% of 168 firms put AI in their value creation.
Does this measure what firms actually do with AI?
No. It measures what firms say on their own websites. A firm can do serious AI work and not publish it, and a firm can publish more than it does.