Private Equity 3d Briefing

Last updated: March 15, 2026, 7:34 AM ET

AI & Technology Investments

The artificial intelligence sector continued its fundraising streak with Nyne raising $5.3 million techcrunch.com in seed funding to provide AI agents with human context, while Gumloop secured $50 million techcrunch.com from Benchmark to turn every employee into an AI agent builder. Meanwhile, the Owkin spinout Waiv raised $33 million sifted.eu to scale AI-powered medical testing, reflecting venture capital's growing appetite for healthcare AI solutions. These funding rounds come amid a broader trend of increased investment in AI and robotics, with Crunchbase News characterizing the week as having "big checks" flowing into these sectors news.crunchbase.com. The sustained interest in AI infrastructure and applications suggests that despite broader market uncertainties, investors remain bullish on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence across industries.

Secondaries Market Activity

Europe's secondaries market remains robust with Vinted, Eleven Labs, and Iceye emerging as hot secondary sales sifted.eu, while Sifted reports that the market is so active that "who isn't selling?" has become a common sentiment pehub.com. In institutional developments, General Atlantic entered the secondaries market secondariesinvestor.com in partnership with Clipway, targeting $1 billion for a fund focused on growth equity and late-stage venture capital investments. Meanwhile, Lexington Partners' Christophe Browne advocated for LP-friendly CV structures secondariesinvestor.com, suggesting that a higher percentage of limited partners choosing to roll into continuation vehicles would be a "healthy" sign for the market. The W Capital Partners' David Wachter emphasized the importance of structured solutions secondariesinvestor.com to keep assets within flagship funds, reflecting strategies to navigate what he believes will become "more of a K-curve market" in coming years.

Fund Management & Leadership Changes

Vistria named David Schuppan and Phil Alphonse pehub.com as co-heads of its flagship funds, supporting the firm's operating structure as it evolves with its increasing scale and strategic priorities. In senior hiring moves, Goldman Sachs brought on board secondariesinvestor.com PJT managing director Darren Schluter, who had previously served as Rothschild's London-based head of GP Solutions. On the fundraising front, I Squared Capital is approaching $10 billion pe-insights.com in commitments for its next flagship infrastructure fund amid a sector boom, while France maintains a steady presence privateequityinternational.com in European private equity despite a broader fundraising slowdown. These leadership changes and fundraising efforts demonstrate how private equity firms are adapting to market conditions and positioning themselves for future growth opportunities in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Deal Activity Across Sectors

Private equity firms demonstrated diverse dealmaking pehub.com with investments in six women's healthcare segments, with Ardian, Charterhouse, CVC, and L Catterton among the active investors. In the infrastructure space, Arc Light acquired a 50% stake pehub.com