Private Equity: Cycles, AI, and Vintage
Summary
In this discussion, Louis Flamand, Chief Investment OfficerAltaroc, explains how a private equity fund operates: raising capital, gradual deployment, value creation, and then divestment over a period of about 10 years. He explains why private equity is a cyclical asset class tied to the mergers and acquisitions market, and why funds launched after an economic shock (2009–2010, and today) have historically been among the best performers, as managers are able to buy at more attractive valuations.
He then explains why Altaroc on enterprise software, particularly “Systems of Record” (payroll, accounting, and compliance software), which are considered difficult to replace with artificial intelligence due to their deterministic nature. Finally, he illustrates this positioning with two recent co-investments—OneStream (alongside Hg) and Jeppesen (alongside Thoma Bravo)—and explainsAltaroc rationale for investingAltaroc software infrastructure rather than in AI startups themselves.
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