We will come up with a new logo in the future!
Hi all – this is last of the 4-part pilot series on AI for private equity. You can find part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.
First off, we had great feedback and will look to continue the series! In the interim, if you’re an AI provider interested in supporting AI To Carry series with sponsorships, please reply to this email with your company website and budget!
Let’s dive into today’s topic: finding and quantifying AI opportunities at portcos.
State of Play
Hi I’m Davis—an ex-PE investor who’s spent the last two years building and deploying AI tools across the world's largest investment banks, hedge funds, and private equity firms. Every Wednesday, Edwin and I will be closing the gap in AI knowledge in PE, one use case at a time.
We want to start with the wrong question.
"Where do you think you should be using more AI?"
I have heard some version of this in almost every AI conversation between an investor and a portco management team. The instinct is understandable. You’ve read the headlines of another portco boosting margins by 20%+. An LP mentioned it on your last call. Now, you want to show up to the board meeting sounding like you're on top of it.
The problem with “where do you think you should be using more AI?" is that you’re starting with the solution, not the problem.
And if you can't identify the opportunity and size the ROI on AI deployment, it shouldn't be a lever in your financial model.
In this article, we'll show you how to find that problem in your portco, size the ROI, and build it into the value creation plan, using a mid-market logistics company as the case study throughout.