EQT's Per Franzén has declared a "very, very high sense of urgency" to operationalize artificial intelligence across the firm's portfolio companies. The EQT partner called AI "the most important theme of our generation," signaling a strategic push to integrate the technology deep into the private equity giant's holdings.

Insurance and pest control industries are already demonstrating AI's value creation potential, according to Franzén. These seemingly disparate sectors share a common thread: both are leveraging artificial intelligence to transform operations and drive efficiency gains that translate into measurable returns for investors.

The implications extend beyond operational improvements. Franzén suggested AI's legacy code rewriting capabilities could expand private equity's investable universe, potentially opening new sectors and company types previously too complex or costly to modernize.

This positions EQT among major private equity firms racing to deploy AI across portfolios. The technology's ability to modernize aging systems may determine which firms capture value—and which get left behind.