Private Equity 8 Hours

Last updated: August 12, 2026, 2:47 PM ET

Mega-Funds & Fundraising

Thrive Holdings, an OpenAI-backed enterprise AI company, has raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners and Alitmeter Capital. Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a new AI lab founded by a Deep Mind researcher. Lovable raised $400m at a €13.3bn valuation, backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund. Drone startup Uforce is targeting a valuation above $4bn in its next funding round. HarbourVest’s HCF VII, its seventh flagship co-investment fund, held a final close of $4.75bn with a focus on AI and healthcare innovation.

Buyouts & Exits

TDR Capital is exploring a sale of Arrow Global, the British private credit manager it took private five years ago. Mountaingate exited its investment in healthcare commercialization platform Relevate. One Rock is selling environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m. Astorg completed its buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. Goldman Sachs is acquiring ETF provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn; Neos manages $30bn in assets across 19 options-based income ETFs. Capitol Services, backed by Clearview Capital, acquired corporate services provider Wolz.

Credit & CLOs

CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a $550m collateralised loan obligation – its fourth new-issue CLO of 2026. The deal extends a busy year for the credit arm of buyout group CVC.

Venture & Growth Deals

ClearJet, an AI-enabled logistics platform that matches shippers with unused cargo capacity on commercial flights, raised a $25m Series B led by Edison Partners. Gridiron Capital invested in van den Boom & Associates, a back-office solutions provider for life sciences companies. Sunstar, backed by Reverence Capital, acquired insurance agency RJR Faribo. Western Botanicals, a Riverside-backed herbal supplement manufacturer, invested in dietary supplement developer Yellow Emperor.

LP Insights & Strategy

LA Fire and Police Pension, a $38bn pension system, reaffirmed its conviction in lower mid-market and emerging manager allocations, citing strong distributions in a difficult LP environment. Former APG PE veteran John Renkema argued that internal asset class evaluations are key to assessing portfolio performance. HarbourVest’s deployment strategy for its $4.75bn flagship fund targets consumer brands and manufacturing in the beverage sector, with recent deals by Bain, Platinum Equity and Monogram. The latest Side Letter notes that valuations face mounting SEC scrutiny, while tail-end specialist Hollyport has parted with an equity stake.

Sector Snapshots

Fitness startup funding is rebounding, with $3.6bn raised in the first half of 2026, but investors are prioritizing AI and data-driven platforms over traditional hardware like treadmills.