Private Equity Edition ·
AI Is Rewriting Operating Leverage
From SolarWinds launching an AI agent to implement across its portfolio, to Blackstone’s outperformance thanks to AI this year, the signal becomes clearer:…
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Hi, I’m Lily. I created this PE edition of the AI Dispatch for private equity leaders navigating AI’s shift across portfolio operations.
From SolarWinds launching an AI agent to implement across its portfolio, to Blackstone’s outperformance thanks to AI this year, the signal becomes clearer: PE firms view the technology as a key lever for value creation and the precursor for success. On the portfolio front, NewDay (CVC) is showing what happens when AI-driven efficiency meets smart capital deployment: faster growth, higher margins, and better customer economics.
This week, I’m sharing portco AI use cases worth looking at, insights from top PE leaders such as Jon Gray and Anuj Ranjan, and where disciplined AI execution is setting the new standard for portfolio management. Let’s get into it.
What GPs are Whispering About
SolarWinds Targets 2026 for AI Deployment Across Portfolio
SolarWinds has launched an AI Agent to help address the “resilience gap” that enterprise organizations continue to face, a condition SolarWinds identified in its 2025 IT Trends Report. The company describes this gap as the disparity between IT leaders’ perceived confidence in their operational resilience and the underlying weaknesses that limit their ability to recover from disruptions. SolarWinds plans to expand the availability of these AI capabilities across its portfolio in 2026. Read more →
AI Is Behind Blackstone’s Portfolio Outperformance
At Blackstone’s 2025 CIO Symposium, Jon Gray called AI “the main thing” driving the firm’s next phase of growth, not a theme, but a structural force across the portfolio. He cited several AI-exposed investments already compounding returns: QTS Data Centers, scaling from a $10B to a $70B business, and rules-based businesses like AGS Health, Citrin Cooperman, and Norm AI now transforming through embedded intelligence. Read the full transcript by following this link: Read more →
AI Delivers Operating Leverage at C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson’s CEO Dave Bozeman is proving that structured AI deployment can expand margins even in a market contraction. Despite an 8% gross revenue decline, the company grew operating profit to $393 million by automating half of all carrier bookings and rate quotes while cutting headcount 20%. It’s a defining case study in how AI turns cost reduction into sustained EBITDA lift. For PE firms, this matters because it validates the core investment logic behind AI adoption in the portcos. Read more →
Portfolio Gold
Every week, we’ll bring you a new, real-world example of how targeted AI deployments within portfolios are solving persistent business challenges.
CVC’s Portco NewDay Connects AI to Their Customer
Company: NewDay (CVC Capital Partners): a fast-growing UK specialty finance firm providing £3 billion in credit to nearly five million customers.
Problem: Rapid growth and rising service volumes are great until they stretch your customer support capacity. With 2.5 million calls per year, NewDay’s manual handling created bottlenecks in service speed and quality.
Solution: NewDay deployed an “AI-powered support solution” to assist its customer service agents in real time.
Results:
30 seconds saved per call: equivalent to 10 full-time employees’ capacity
Ability to handle an additional 600,000 calls annually without increasing headcount
Faster onboarding and higher service consistency across staff
Improved customer satisfaction through more efficient support
Lily’s Recommendation Corner
Why Industrials are Back on PE’s Radar in the Age of AI With Anuj Ranjan and David Bonasia
In this podcast episode of “Private Equity Spotlight”, Anuj Ranjan (CEO of Brookfield’s private equity group) and David Bonasia (managing partner) argue that industrials are primed for a comeback. Rising tariffs and the drive for supply-chain resilience are reshaping the investment landscape, with AI emerging as the catalyst turning old-line manufacturing into a new efficiency frontier. Tune in to hear how steadier valuations and AI-driven process gains position Brookfield as one of the strongest PE value-creation platforms heading into 2025. Listen here →
Lily’s Closing Thoughts
The emphasis on AI-led value-building across PE portfolios clearly indicates that AI investments cannot achieve full value without deliberate analysis, planning, and execution.
C.H. Robinson’s example shows what every PE operator is chasing: AI as a structural margin expander. Blackstone translates that same discipline into portfolio gains, while SolarWinds commits to implementing AI across its portfolio companies’ IT operations. At CVC, NewDay turns AI into a sharper customer tool. Brookfield, watching closely, sees in the industrial sector AI’s next great test and opportunity for endurance and profit.
The pattern gets defined: smaller teams, sharper tools, greater yield. Control is the new scale, and if you want to lead with AI as your value-creation tool, you have to give your team time to implement it right: not rush into the AI fever, but execute within portcos with a clear, disciplined mind.
Join Us and Vector Advisory at the PE Ops + AI Happy Hour!
Join InstaLILY AI and Vector Advisory for an exclusive Happy Hour in SoHo, New York!
Connect with peers over wine and hors d’oeuvres while exploring AI-driven value creation across portfolio operations.
JOIN the LIST: RSVP HERE!
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Location: InstaLILY HQ, SoHo, New York (complete details will be sent upon RSVP)
Industry Events on the Horizon
Operating Partners Forum New York
October 29 - 30, 2025 | New York
The premier global event for private equity value creation, uniting 500+ operating partners and portfolio leaders to exchange strategies on AI adoption and performance. Expect real AI use cases, hands-on data-driven workshops, and insights shaping the future of operational excellence. [Register here →]
New Private Markets Investor Summit: North America
November 4 - 5, 2025 | New York
300+ private market leaders gather to explore how investors are future-proofing portfolios amid AI disruption, policy shifts, and liquidity challenges. Sessions focus on what asset owners want now, and how they’re building more resilient, tech-enabled portfolios for the next cycle. [Register here →]
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