Episode 125: Arvindh Kumar of EQT on Pairing Defensive Assets with AI-Forward Leadership to Drive Returns
Â
On this episode
On this episode, Arvindh Kumar, Partner and Co-Head of EQT's Global Technology Sector Team, explains how private equity firms can turn AI laggard companies into AI winners—and why getting that transformation right starts with the CEO.
Arvindh walks through the defensive attributes he looks for when underwriting software investments, including proprietary data, embedded workflows and network effects, and explains how those characteristics determine whether AI acts as an amplifier or a threat.
Learn how one of the biggest PE firms in the world prioritizes AI initiatives across engineering, product and sales; how portfolio companies have put AI to work in tangible ways; and why the firms seeing the fastest results are using access, positive peer pressure and clear business KPIs rather than wholesale team replacement to drive adoption.
Get answers to these questions:
- Which functions should get AI investment first?
- How should AI initiatives be prioritized with limited resources?
- Can AI strengthen retention, win rates and other fundamentals?
- Do you need new people to become AI forward?
- How do PE firms underwrite AI upside into a deal?
- What defensive attributes protect software from AI disruption?
- Is the market mispricing good software companies on AI fears?
- How can you tell if a CEO is ready for AI?
- Can AI SDR agents close enterprise deals on their own?
- Is Rule of 40 still the right benchmark?
How does positioning matter before AI-driven go-to-market?
“We come across this in PE portcos all the time where there’s always a hot button topic. Right now it’s AI, five years ago it may have been cloud or mobile or data ... A company needs to have something basic like product messaging and positioning in place before it can think about leveraging AI for its go-to-market.”
Shiv Narayanan, CEO and founder of How To SaaS
The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Suggested Episodes
Ep.122: Luke Sarsfield of Ridgepost CapitalÂ
Building a Data Advantage in the Middle Market
Learn how a fund of funds can generate differentiated alpha by building proprietary data advantages over time.
Ep.123: Bob Morse of Strattam Capital
Embedding AI into Vertical Software to Drive Portfolio Growth
Learn how founder-led vertical software companies can embed AI meaningfully into their products.
Ep.124: Shiv Narayanan of How To SaaS
The 7-Step AI Marketing Blueprint
Learn how companies can adapt their go-to-market and thrive in an AI-first world.
If you found this episode helpful, please leave us a rating or review on your podcast platform.
Sign up to get more episodes like this direct to your inbox
