AI reshaped private markets in 2025—both as an investment thesis and an operating reality. The industry poured hundreds of billions into data center infrastructure while simultaneously racing to deploy AI tools across deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio operations. But the year also revealed that capital isn't the constraint—power is.

According to Olivia Wassenaar, Partner and Head of Sustainability & Infrastructure at Apollo Global Management, the AI revolution is driving an unprecedented surge in power demand that traditional generation cannot match, creating what the firm's 2026 Infrastructure Outlook calls one of the most attractive opportunity sets in private markets as data centers' share of US electricity consumption is expected to double by 2030 and quadruple over the following decade.

As U.S. federal and state debt levels climb and institutional investors seek inflation-protected, long-duration assets, infrastructure has emerged as one of private markets' fastest-growing categories—yet the massive opportunity to privatize government-owned assets remains largely untapped.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is projecting a return to 14% annual growth over the next five years—up from 10% recently—as normalizing interest rates and currency headwinds reverse while AI infrastructure deployment accelerates beyond anyone's expectations just a year ago, with hyperscaler capital expenditure exploding from $270 billion to $400 billion annually and chip power density increasing tenfold, forcing infrastructure investments the firm now estimates at over $7

Artificial intelligence infrastructure will require over $7 trillion in capital investment over the next decade—nearly ten times the $800 billion spent on internet fiber buildout—but grid capacity shortages rather than capital availability now threaten to constrain AI adoption, forcing a fundamental geographic inversion where training workloads move to remote power sources while inference demands urban proximity.

According to Blue Owl Capital's latest whitepaper, private capital firms are positioning themselves as essential partners in financing the AI-driven infrastructure boom, with data center capital expenditure in North America projected to reach nearly $7 trillion by 2030. The investment firm argues that traditional capital markets are straining under unprecedented AI-related spending, creating opportunities for alternative financing through build-to-suit development and sale-le

Michael Arougheti, CEO of Ares Management, which oversees $570 billion in assets, appeared on Bloomberg Surveillance following the firm's Q2 2025 earnings call to discuss how alternative asset managers are navigating this environment. His firm deployed $27 billion in the quarter despite subdued deal activity, highlighting how the industry has evolved beyond traditional M&A dependency to encompass digital infrastructure, real estate, private credit, and asset-based finance acr

What’s New Private equity is making billion-dollar bets on the backbone of artificial intelligence — from hyperscale data centers to...

Global private equity dealmaking plunged in Q2 2025, with total announced investment dropping to $363.7B across 3,769 deals, the lowest volume since Q3 2020, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Private Equity Q2’25. The slowdown was most pronounced in Asia and the Americas, as investors delayed deals pending clarity on U.S. tariff policies — despite blockbuster U.S. transactions like Blackstone’s $11.5B TXNM Energy buyout.

Blue Owl Capital delivered a record-breaking Q2 2025 performance with $12.1 billion in equity fundraising and $284.1 billion in AUM (up 48% YoY), marking the 17th consecutive quarter of management fee and FRE growth. The alternative asset manager continues aggressive expansion through strategic acquisitions and new product launches, positioning itself at the intersection of AI infrastructure demand and private credit markets while successfully scaling institutional and privat

AI will underwhelm in 2 years but overachieve in 10, says Blackstone CTO who warns data quality trumps flashy AI tools.

PitchBook's "2029 Private Market Horizons" report forecasts global private capital assets under management (AUM) will reach $24.1 trillion by 2029, up from nearly $19 trillion today, reflecting a more moderate 5.2% annual growth rate compared to the rapid expansion of the previous decade.

Blue Owl Capital's Digital Infrastructure Fund III closes at $7 billion, exceeding its $4 billion target to invest in data centers.

Alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital reported first quarter 2025 earnings that showcased the resilience of its permanent capital model during a period of heightened market volatility.