From our conversations and research across the sector, three themes have stood out in the first half of the year:

1) Legacy Technology and Data

While AI is the topic everyone is shouting about, it’s the foundational work around data and legacy technology that’s quietly driving real transformation. PE firms are increasingly prioritizing the modernization of legacy systems and the strategic use of data—not just as enablers of AI, but as core levers for operational efficiency and value creation.

This shift is reflected in the escalation of Private Equity firms hiring data professionals in the last year.

2) Responsible AI: Balancing Innovation with Impact

AI’s environmental impact is increasingly on the radar with AI predicted to drive an 160% increase in data center power demand. Fully quantifying the impact of its usage remains difficult due to limited transparency from providers.

At Hg’s Sustainability Summit, our Technology Director, Oliver Cronk, shared practical steps for building and using AI more responsibly—such as choosing the right model for the task, prompting efficiently, and designing with sustainability in mind. His blog post, ‘There is more than one way to do GenAI’, explores this theme in more depth.

3) ESG in Practice: From Policy to Product

While ESG policy continues to evolve under geopolitical pressures, it remains a top priority for PE firms and their portfolios. The focus is shifting from policy to practice, with a growing push to streamline ESG data collection and reporting—and to go beyond compliance. One emerging question: Are the SaaS platforms in your portfolio surfacing their own social and environmental impact directly to users?

Recommendations

What we’re reading:

MIT Tech Review: AI energy usage and climate footprint

What we’re listening to:

Can we do better than Carbon Aware computing?

Computer Says Maybe: AI Thirst in a Water-Scarce World

What we’re attending:

We’ll be at Private Equity Insights London in September - if you are attending and would like to meet there, or on the days around the event, do let us know and we can put some time aside to chat!