Investing in Artificial Intelligence Through Private Equity: Where Will Value Truly Be Created?

According to the study Europe's AI Opportunity published by GP Bullhound in June 2026, artificial intelligence is now moving from an experimental technology to a genuine global economic infrastructure.

For Private Equity investors, this distinction is fundamental.

AI: A Revolution Closer to Electricity Than to Software

Most digital innovations of the past twenty years have been relatively capital-light.

Artificial intelligence follows an entirely different logic.

GP Bullhound highlights that model capabilities are advancing through the combination of three factors:

• the exponential increase in computing power;
• algorithmic efficiency gains;
• the development of ever-larger physical infrastructure.

Since 2020, the computing power used to train large models has been increasing by approximately five times per year, while algorithmic advances have improved efficiency by around three times per year. Combined, these two trends generate an improvement equivalent to fifteen times more effective computing power each year.

This acceleration has a direct consequence: artificial intelligence is becoming an extremely capital-intensive industry.

The cumulative capital expenditure of Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta is therefore expected to exceed USD 700 billion in 2026. A growing share of these investments is being allocated to the infrastructure required for AI: data centres, networks, power supply and cooling systems.

The report even compares this development phase to the major historical cycles of energy and telecommunications infrastructure build-out.

Where Does Value Creation Truly Lie?

This question is central for any investor.

During the Internet revolution, many pioneers disappeared. By contrast, digital infrastructure, enterprise software and certain providers of critical technologies captured a significant share of the value created.

AI could follow a similar pattern.

The study identifies three layers of value creation:

1. Models

These are the most visible players. OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and Mistral AI currently command significant media attention. Yet they operate in an intensely competitive market that requires massive and continuous investment.

2. Infrastructure

This is probably the least visible segment, and yet one of the most strategic. Without data centres, energy, cooling systems and communication networks, AI models simply cannot exist.

3. Applications

Ultimately, most of the economic value could be captured by companies capable of integrating AI into tangible business use cases:

• healthcare;
• industry;
• finance;
• logistics;
• energy;
• professional services.

Why Europe May Be Better Positioned Than Commonly Assumed

The prevailing narrative often contrasts an innovative America with a Europe perceived as lagging behind. The data presented by GP Bullhound tells a different story.

Europe accounts for:

• 36% of AI patent filings with the European Patent Office;
• a proportion of AI-specialised engineers comparable to that of the United States;
• some of the world’s leading research centres;
• global industrial leaders in healthcare, energy, automotive, aerospace and manufacturing.

The study even argues that Europe’s competitive advantage lies precisely at the intersection of technological excellence and industrial depth.

This analysis is particularly important.

The first phase of AI consisted in building the models. The second consists in embedding them into the real economy. And it is precisely in this second phase that Europe could play a major role.

AI Fundraising Reflects a Step Change in Scale

One of the report’s key findings concerns the evolution of capital flows.

According to GP Bullhound, artificial intelligence now represents the majority of global venture capital investment value, a historical first.

The most striking phenomenon, however, is the growing concentration of capital. Investors are now financing:

• computing infrastructure;
• energy capacity;
• data platforms;
• specialised software;
• sector leaders capable of industrialising AI.

Europe is thus seeing the emergence of its own mega-fundraisings across models, enterprise software, robotics and digital infrastructure.

This evolution is progressively bringing AI closer to the traditional Private Equity investment universe.

Ardian and Verne: When AI Meets Infrastructure

The project announced at Choose France by Ardian and Verne perfectly illustrates this thesis.

Nearly EUR 5 billion will be invested in a low-carbon data centre campus in the Paris region, designed to support the growing computing needs associated with artificial intelligence.

This project is particularly revealing. It shows that the AI revolution is not limited to models. It requires:

• land;
• energy;
• digital infrastructure;
• long-term investment;
• substantial financing capacity.

In other words, areas historically mastered by infrastructure and Private Equity investors.

As computing requirements increase, these assets could become as strategic as railway networks in the nineteenth century or telecommunications networks at the end of the twentieth century.

Why Private Equity Is Particularly Well Positioned

Unlike listed markets, Private Equity enables investors to gain exposure at the very core of this transformation.

Exposure may include:

Semiconductors

Chips have become the fuel of artificial intelligence. AI-driven global demand is supporting a major investment cycle across the entire value chain.

Digital Infrastructure

Data centres, networks, storage, connectivity and energy are becoming strategic assets. Ardian, a leading private infrastructure investor in Europe, is a clear illustration of this positioning.

Enterprise Software

AI is progressively transforming the business software used in healthcare, finance, industry and services.

Industrial Automation

Europe benefits from a structural advantage in industrial applications, robotics and advanced production technologies.

The Real Investment Opportunity in AI

The study by GP Bullhound ultimately puts forward a simple yet powerful idea: the next phase of value creation will not depend solely on access to models, but on the ability to translate artificial intelligence into productivity, infrastructure and concrete applications.

For private assets investors, this opens up a field of opportunities far broader than the mere financing of AI laboratories.

The challenge is no longer simply to identify the next OpenAI. It consists in identifying the companies that will provide the computing capacity, digital infrastructure, specialised software and sector-specific solutions that will enable artificial intelligence to deploy its potential across the entire economy.

And on this terrain, Europe probably has more strengths than the market currently recognises.

Sources

• GP Bullhound, Europe's AI Opportunity, June 2026.
• Data cited in the study: European Patent Office (EPO), EU AI Champions Initiative, Epoch AI, METR, Anthropic Economic Index, McKinsey, CB Insights.
• Ardian — private assets investment group.
• Verne Global — low-carbon data centre operator.