Thoughts From Berlin: EQT at the World’s Largest Private Markets Conference

The annual SuperReturn Berlin conference is a leading private markets industry gathering, attracting thousands of portfolio managers and investors for a week of meetings and panel discussions. EQT hosted several events over the week, including a panel on how portfolio companies and investment managers can benefit from AI.

AI dominated the conversation. The topic was a leading theme across the conference as participants debated what the technology means for investing. Other popular themes included asset selection and evergreen strategies. After the week-long event in Berlin ended, several EQT attendees reflected on what people had wanted to speak about.

Hari Gopalakrishnan, Partner and Co-Head of Asia Private Capital

“While AI was naturally one of the dominant topics, for me, the more interesting question is how AI intersects with the fundamental drivers of value creation. At EQT, we view AI as an accelerant rather than a standalone investment theme. The technology has the potential to improve productivity, enhance decision-making and unlock new growth opportunities across industries. But ultimately, value creation still comes down to helping companies become better businesses. That means strengthening management teams, improving go-to-market strategies, driving operational excellence and embracing digital transformation. AI can amplify those efforts, but it does not replace them.

The conversations in Berlin also reinforced my conviction that Asia remains a compelling region for active ownership. While the region generates a significant share of global economic growth, it continues to receive a relatively small proportion of global private equity capital.

What excites me most about Asia is that many value creation drivers remain highly durable. Across markets such as Japan, India and Southeast Asia, we continue to see founder and family-owned businesses approaching succession, companies seeking to professionalize operations, and corporates becoming more open to strategic change. These are precisely the situations where we believe active ownership can make the greatest difference.”

Carolina Brochado, Head of EQT Growth US and EQT Ventures

“The big picture was that AI is no longer a sector or investment theme; it’s becoming a foundational layer across the entire economy. The conversations at SuperReturn mirrored what we have seen, that AI has shifted from experimentation to value creation, with companies increasingly judged on their ability to turn AI into growth, productivity and margins.

From an early stage tech perspective, we’re seeing both AI-native companies scaling at significant speed, for example, Lovable, Harvey, and Parloa, and also existing companies using AI to transform their economics. The opportunity is no longer just software; it’s increasingly moving into the physical world through robotics, infrastructure and physical AI.

As a result, the pace of company building has fundamentally changed. Companies are growing faster than ever before. The winners won’t necessarily be those talking most about AI, but those turning it into real products, customer value and durable businesses.”

Peter Beske Nielsen, Head of Global Wealth Solutions and Evergreen Strategies

“Demand for private markets remains strong, with growing interest from individual investors and institutions seeking diversified exposure.

Recent attention around elevated redemptions in some evergreen strategies – and some firms gating their strategies – was, of course, top of mind in many of the conversations I had at SuperReturn.

One of my key takeaways from those discussions is the importance of keeping a rules-based and consistent approach to handling redemption requests and potential gating. Temporarily raising gating thresholds to accommodate redemptions in one quarter, only to revert to the standard terms the next, risks creating unnecessary uncertainty.

Being rules-based and consistent builds long-term clarity among all stakeholders. That’s not just good practice; it’s foundational to the evergreen model’s credibility."