Three things the private markets industry needs to talk about more
Insights from the Private Markets Forum Technology Summit, London
Our Canoe team recently joined the Private Markets Forum Technology Summit in London. Throughout a full day of panels and discussions with industry professionals, three main themes kept coming up. When so many experienced people share the same views, it’s important to listen.
Here are the key points and why they matter.
1. Everyone has AI now. The question is who’s actually using it well.
A standout moment from the day was a panelist’s comment that, once said, seemed obvious: adoption is now almost immediate. Every major firm can access enterprise-level AI tools, so the technology itself no longer sets anyone apart.
The panel used a memorable analogy: if every car in an F1 race has the same engine, it’s the driver who wins, not the machine.
This changes the focus of the conversation. For years, the main question was whether a firm had AI. Now, what matters is who in your organisation uses it well, and whether that knowledge is being shared. The firms that get ahead won’t just be those who turned on an AI tool. They’ll be the ones who made a real effort to integrate it, identified their top users, learned what those people do differently, and made those practices standard across the company.
That’s why having a solution that brings AI directly into the alternatives workflow, instead of making firms figure it out on their own, is now a real competitive advantage. The driver is still important, but the car should not hold anyone back.
2. Build versus buy is being decided, and ‘build’ is losing.
This topic came up in nearly every conversation. People kept pointing out the difference between an AI-built solution, which is made in-house with AI at its core, and an AI-enabled solution, where AI is built into a specialised platform. Most people now clearly prefer the second option.
The reasons for this shift are practical and based on real experience. What if token pricing changes and the cost model no longer works? Who is responsible for maintenance when problems come up? What happens if the model a firm relies on goes down and document processing stops?
These are not just theoretical questions. Firms that tried to build their own solutions found that the biggest costs came after the initial setup.
The benefit of an AI-enabled platform is that firms avoid these risks. A model-agnostic setup, which can use different large language models instead of relying on just one, lets firms get all the advantages of AI without the weaknesses of depending on a single provider. This flexibility is becoming more important, and it’s hard to match with an in-house build.
3. The data problem is more urgent than most firms realise.
This point was at the heart of all the discussions. Machine learning models need five to ten years of accurate, well-organised data to be reliable.
In private markets, meeting this standard is tough. Data for alternatives has usually been stored in PDFs, each formatted differently by every GP, processed in various ways, and never fully standardised. The industry is still dealing with this challenge in 2026 because it’s a real problem, and most firms are not as far along as they would like to be.
A solution built specifically for alternatives data, trained on real instruments, fund structures, and document formats unique to private markets, makes a big difference. For firms planning for 2030, having a strong data foundation is not just a detail, it’s essential.
The discussions at the Private Markets Forum Technology Summit showed that the industry is moving from talking about AI to actually using it, and people are starting to see the real impact of doing it well or poorly. The main topics – sophistication, platform strength, and data quality – are not just big-picture ideas. They are real decisions firms are making now, with lasting effects for the future.
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About Canoe Intelligence
Canoe Intelligence (“Canoe”) is the platform for smarter alts management. We redefine alternative investment intelligence with AI-driven software that directly addresses the core challenges of private markets. Our technology empowers institutions, LPs, and wealth managers to future-proof their alts infrastructure, modernizing systems and providing a scalable foundation for long-term growth and compliance. By automating manual data processing with AI-native precision, Canoe helps clients reduce operational costs and risks, significantly lowering overhead and mitigating errors. Ultimately, our timely, accurate, and comprehensive data enables investment teams to drive superior investment outcomes through deeper insights and more profitable allocation strategies. With Canoe, it’s all about making Alts, smarter. Learn more at www.canoeintelligence.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Betsy Miller Daitch
Canoe Intelligence
+1 443-690-6200
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