While the majority of PE-backed businesses are now using AI in some form, very few have seen tangible P&L impact. Most remain caught between individual tool adoption and scattered pilots that fail to scale, with less than 10% of companies surveyed reporting measurable returns.
This report is a practical briefing for Private Equity leaders on where AI is driving ROI today, how to assess maturity across portfolio companies, and the steps needed to move from experimentation to measurable value creation. It draws on direct conversations with CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, and CIOs from PE-backed businesses, and includes case studies evidencing revenue growth and cost reduction.
Inside this report
- The AI Maturity Curve: a framework for assessing where your portfolio companies sit and what it takes to progress
- The biggest barriers to AI adoption, ranked by PE-backed business leaders
- Case studies evidencing revenue growth and cost reduction
- The AI Progress Ladder: a step-by-step operating model for turning AI investment into ROI
Key insights
- Ways of working, culture, and adoption emerged as the number one barrier to AI progress, ahead of data quality, systems limitations, and competing priorities
- Businesses that are seeing AI returns are treating it as a transformation programme, not a technology initiative
- AI value creation is increasingly being measured through EBITDA impact rather than activity, adoption metrics or proof-of-concept success
Access the AI maturity framework
Benchmark your portfolio against the AI maturity curve and access a practical framework for moving from experimentation to P&L impact.