Opinion · Insights

Per Franzén: Four AI Takeaways From Our Silicon Valley Partner Meeting

March 17, 2026, 15:00

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Per FranzénCEO & Managing Partner

AI is reshaping how long-term value is created. For investors in pursuit of global alpha, this moment calls for curiosity, courage and urgency.

A generational shift, not a passing cycle

Earlier this month, EQT’s Partners and the Board of Directors convened in Silicon Valley for our global AI Summit. We met with business leaders from the largest tech companies, executives from our portfolio companies and thought leaders from the venture capital community.

What stood out was not only the speed of innovation, but the breadth of real-world application. AI is transforming supply chains, accelerating drug discovery, advancing software development, optimizing energy systems and redefining knowledge-based work. A few months ago we published our AI Opportunity report, which dives deeper into these applications.

The question is no longer whether AI will matter, but how it can be applied responsibly, at scale and with lasting impact. The vast majority of the world’s companies are privately owned, so as private capital investors we have a profound role to play in shaping this application.

From incremental efficiency to strategic reinvention

In many boardrooms, early discussions have centered on productivity gains: automating workflows, enhancing customer interfaces and reducing administrative complexity. However, the real value creation opportunity lies in strategic reinvention.

During our days in Silicon Valley, the most substantive discussions focused on new business models, new product categories and new ways of delivering customer value. Our portfolio company IFS is a great example of this, having used agentic AI to quintuple its revenue.

To capture these opportunities, long-term investors in private equity require a broad lens. Sustainable value creation will increasingly depend on a company’s ability to embed AI into its strategy, operating model and culture – not as an isolated initiative, but as a core capability. Capital alone, however, is insufficient. Enduring success will depend on disciplined execution, strategic clarity and strong governance.

Combining curiosity and courage

We are deeply optimistic about AI as a force for economic progress. However, we also recognise that periods of profound innovation are rarely linear and are difficult to time. They tend to create disruption, mispricing, and uncertainty before delivering enduring value. Investors who have navigated previous waves – from the internet to mobile and cloud – will recognize this pattern.

Long-term value creation will require intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness and the courage to act decisively when warranted. It will also require discipline to distinguish structural change from short-term enthusiasm. The ability to adapt with speed and discipline will once again be decisive. But it is better to take gutsy action and learn from failures, than to not try at all.

The imperative for investors

Leaving Silicon Valley, I felt energized. The path ahead might not be straightforward, but we face the opportunity of a lifetime.

EQT has navigated multiple cycles – including the dot-com bubble, the global financial crisis, and the COVID pandemic. There are some common principles that are imperative for investors:

First, drive transformation with urgency. In periods of disruption, inaction is itself a decision – and rarely the right one. Fast decision-making, supported by clear and decisive governance, will be critical.
Second, leverage capabilities and knowledge to support portfolio companies. Scale enables investors to deploy dedicated teams and real resources to actively drive transformation rather than observe it.
Third, stay active. Periods of disruption are when the most compelling opportunities emerge. Dislocation creates entry points for investors willing to engage rather than retreat.
Fourth, remain vigilant and reassess constantly. As the saying goes, only the paranoid survive.

EQT’s platform today is perfectly-designed to capture this generational investment opportunity. We are the only scale player with Early-Stage investment strategies, enabling us to see what is happening at the cutting-edge of technological and healthcare innovation. We have an industry-leading Real Assets business that is investing at scale into data centers and energy to power AI. On the Secondaries side, following the closing of our acquisition of Coller Capital, we will be well positioned to invest into the market dislocation that AI has triggered. Finally, within our Private Equity business, we have the ownership model, scale and expertise to drive ambitious AI based value creation strategies and transformation.

Per FranzénCEO & Managing Partner

Per Franzén is CEO and Managing Partner of EQT, a role he assumed in May 2025. He joined EQT in 2007 and has played a central role in the firm’s development and investment activities across Europe. With over two decades of experience in private equity and financial advisory, Per has led and overseen investments across a broad range of sectors, including software, services, healthcare, and consumer goods. He has been involved in investments including IFS, Automic, SSP, AcadeMedia, Securitas Direct, IVC, Anticimex, Duni, Karo Pharma, and Piab. Per began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he worked in M&A, Leveraged Finance and Nordic Banking in London and Stockholm. During his time at EQT, he has worked across the firm’s European offices, including London, Stockholm and Munich. He holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics, with exchange studies at the University of St. Gallen. Per is Chairman of the EQT Equity Partners Investment Committee and a member of the Infrastructure Partners Investment Committee.