Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 1, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

Major Funding Rounds and VC Activity

Safe Superintelligence foundational AI unicorn, secured a significant $5 billion financing round backed by Nvidia. Index Ventures raised $2 billion across three new funds, bringing its total available investment capital to $3.5 billion. Smallest.ai, a voice AI startup, raised $13 million to develop ultra-fast voice models designed to pass the Turing test. Ellis AI AI startup focused on private credit managers, announced its emergence from stealth with $10 million in seed funding. Inforcer, London-based firm, closed a $50 million Series C round led by Insight Partners to assist smaller businesses with AI and security risks. Battery storage Antora closed a $550 million Series C round, one of the largest cleantech rounds of the year, to accelerate the deployment of large-scale projects amid rising energy demand from AI data centers.

Private Equity Dealmaking and Transactions

Platinum Equity is set to acquire a 50% stake in Nestlé's waters and premium beverages business for lion, creating a new company valued at €4.9 billion ($5.6 . KKR and Energy Capital Partners are pursuing a £5.75 billionbillion) cash takeover of DCC, despite some shareholder objections. Providence Equity Partners is acquiring full ownership of cy formerly known as Wasserman, buying out founder Casey Wasserman. Blackstone and Colony IM are jointly acquiring Accor's approximately 30.7% stake in hotel owner Essendi for up to €975 million ($1.12 . Sterling Group sold its manufacturer Tangent Technologies to Platinum Equity. Enterprise-backed Meritus acquired industrial gases distributor Metroplex Welding Supply. KKR-backed Spectris acquired the sensor business Sentech. HIG Capital selling industrial services firm JT Thorpe to Truelink Capital. Blackstone's energy group is acquiring pipeline inspection provider Dark Vision from Koch. TSG Consumer acquiring the body care brand Saltair, which was previously backed by Prelude Growth Partners.

Sector Focus and Investment Trends

Supply and demand gaps in the senior care sector are creating dealmaking opportunities, with firms like Goldman Sachs, Brightstar, and Health Wave actively transacting in this segment. Sustainability trends incentivizing Apax's €1.5 billion medical packaging deal. Platinum Equity investing in lighting company LMPG, with the founder and management team rolling their equity and remaining significant investors. Palladian is investing in UK leasing company Global Vehicle Group, which manages over 70,000 vehicles. Apheon-backed Haudecoeur expanding its European presence by acquiring food businesses Natur Food and Heliadis, marking its first international expansion into Germany and Belgium. Dominus is investing in traffic products manufacturer Pelco Solutions, with the management team continuing to lead the business as significant shareholders. MRC is backing Nexus Power to support its geographic expansion, targeted acquisitions, and team growth.

Venture Capital Strategies and European Markets

VC-backed startups reportedly committing more fraud, with researchers from Imperial College and Emlyon Business School investigating the methods used by Silicon Valley founders and the role investors play. Blossom Capital exploring investments in the defense sector and is seeking specific types of companies. universities saw €4.9 billion raised by 222 spinouts in the first half of 2026. European Union has opened applications for a €10 billion AI gigafactory scheme. European startups increasingly expanding internationally, even at the seed stage. Some European venture capital firms are benefiting from a downturn in chip stocks. testing platform Function has secured $450 million from General Catalyst; the platform offers access to over 100 blood tests via a yearly subscription.

Secondaries Market and Fund Activity

CVC is preparing for its sixth secondaries fund, aiming for a third-quarter close, and is also planning its first infrastructure secondaries vehicle, having raised $9.3 billion to date for Fund VI. Savano has closed an oversubscribed direct secondaries fund, which has already made 12 investments. Hamilton Lane leading a single-asset continuation vehicle for wealth management asset firm Savant Capital Holdings. Evercore is expanding its private capital advisory unit in the Asia-Pacific region, having more than doubled its headcount since February. The assessment of quick-flip continuation vehicles based solely on hold period is considered an imperfect metric.

Fundraising and Investor Activity

Blue Owl has reached $10.6 billion fotest GP stakes fund, with the vehicle expected to close this year. Brookfield has held a $2 billion first close on its Brookfield Mid Partners fund, anchored by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners is backing Eamonn Rothwell's €1.2 billion ($1.38 management buyout of Irish Continental Group. Hg EQT are selling their Saa S provider Quantios to Vista Equity, while Open Gate is carving out Knorr-Bremse’s HVAC unit. Concentration of capital in Asia's large-cap space presents a potentially lucrative opportunity for GPs capable of raising smaller amounts of capital in lower market segments.

Performance and Investor Insights

KKR reported a record quarter for realizations, with $848 million in performance income across strategies and exit multiples as high as 20x, indicating strong performance despite broader industry anxieties. Sweden's Alecta fund, with €126.7 billion in assets, views disciplined entry pricing as directly linked to value creation, according to Jonas Nyquist, head of alternatives. Venture capital are increasingly taking on operator roles within their portfolio companies, a trend that warrants further examination. Former NEA Vanessa Larco evaluates startups based on founder potential and their leverage of AI, rather than solely on initial ideas. The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, has a dedicated head of Private Equity & Venture Capital, Siby Diabira.