We joined more than 6,000 colleagues from 80+ countries in Berlin in Supertorn International 2025. The week provided valuable insights from industry leaders during this dynamic period for private market. Participants had the opportunity to join the idea leaders and experts, who shared their views on the dynamics of the emerging market, and the technological innovations that shaped the future of private equity.
Here are my main attractions and main takeaways from the week:
*Information in this article should not be interpreted as a direct quotation of panelists.
Market Outlook: Management through uncertainty
Macroeconomic factors, including tariff uncertainty and transfer of geo -political mobility, flows quite size to especially for American arrangements. These challenges have temporarily transferred market benefits towards Europe and Asia. Efforts to raise money are focusing on global trade strategies, with a strong emphasis on these areas at the time of chaos.
Sector opportunities and strategic focus- infrastructure, secondary and asset-supported credit are offering remarkable opportunities according to panelists. Leading firms are strategically focusing on areas such as energy, artificial intelligence, healthcare and alternative investment. Long -term plan and comprehensive strategies are important to successfully navigate the current environment.
Market spirit and confidence building- while tariffs may reduce direct effects, indirect effects, such as changes in consumer emotion and commercial belief between CEOs, are becoming increasingly relevant. Despite these uncertainties, the leaders of the industry remain optimistic about the market ability to react and guess a pickup in activity. Topics of longevity, connectivity and reputation are emerging as key drivers of continuous success in private equity.
Application for AI
In 2025, the AI is ready to significantly affect the landscape of private markets. Firms are infected with the discovery of AI so that it can be actively implemented for price construction. This focuses on achieving the average results from AI investment made in the past years.
AI application in private equity- Artificial intelligence will help to streamline and increase value construction. Cases of use include automatic to back-office operations, optimizing supply chains and A/B test investment results. AI can help in proper hard work by making data analysis and document reviews simplified, possibly expediting the deal evaluation. Portfolio monitoring and adaptation can benefit well, AI provides real -time performance tracking and risk management.
Customer-support innovations- There is a notable change towards availing AI to improve customer experience. Firms are focused on AI-competent products and platforms that increase revenue growth, proceeding from early infrastructure and model-based applications.
Operations efficiency- Increasing operational efficiency is an important priority. AI can be used for an estimated price manufacturing and cost-saving investment, especially in areas such as business process outsourcing and customer service.
Investor Relations and Reporting- AI reports can simplify the relationship by automating generations and personalizing communication. This can improve transparency and strengthen relationships with investors.
Data readiness- AI’s success in private equity depends on very high quality, well-structured data, which completely outlines the increasing importance of strong data regime to unlock AI’s ability.
“DPI is new IRR”
In 2025, distribution to paid-in capital (DPI) has emerged as an important metric for private equity sponsors and limited partners, which reflects the efficiency of capital deployment and the ability to return cash to investors. Since the fundamentalist remains competitive, focusing on promoting DPIs to attract sponsor investors, while LPS are using it as an important benchmark to evaluate funds and shape their allocation strategies.
Emphasis on DPI stems from its value in providing a clear and direct measurement of liquidity, an important aspect in the current environment of slow exhaust activity. By demonstrating tangible capital returns, DPI provides investors a practical tool for both assurances and sponsors, which enable them to unlock new funds to show success. This focus underlines the increasing importance of liquidity management as the driver of private equity success in the coming years.
Secondary Summit: Key takeaways and trends shape the secondary market
As the secondary market develops, its role will be more clear only in providing liquidity, managing risks and providing returns. The insight of the secondary summit of the supertinar underlines the importance of innovation, adaptability and transparency in navigating this complex yet promising landscape.
The developed role of the secondary market- there has been transformative growth in the secondary market, which has become an important tool for liquidity management in private equity. A remarkable trend is the increasing use of secondary by general partners, now the sponsor-to-the-se-accounting for about half of the M&A activity. This shift highlights how secondary limited partners enable GPS to maintain valuable property by providing liquidity. LPS has also adopted a more active approach to portfolio management, which emphasizes long -term strategies on immediate liquidity concerns. The rise of special entrances further reflects the maturity of the market.
CV: Transparency and best practices- GP-LED continuity vehicle (CV) was a recurring subject of transparency in the transaction. Following the ILPA guidelines and ensuring pricing and impartiality in diligence processes was emphasized as necessary to maintain the LP Trust. The opinion of competitive bid, the participation of the mediator, and fairness was identified as important measures to reduce the conflict of interest, leading to the overall more justified and accessible.
Variety in liquidity options- the emergence of diverse liquidity solutions, including vehicles with nave lending, preferred equity and continuity, underlines the adaptability of the market. These options can be used in different stages in the life cycle of the fund and comprehensive investor objectives can be addressed, creating capacity for widely beneficial results. However, challenges remain, especially in limiting complex structures and align them with the ILPA conflict management guidelines. Within the enterprise sector, the secondary market is being taken advantage of to provide opportunities to get out without pressing the development objectives of managers in the portfolio.
Future estimates- Secondary market is ready for significant growth, with estimates suggests that it can reach $ 400 billion by 2030. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology are expected to provide permanent alternative solutions to streamline deals processes, increase efficiency, transparency and investors’ liquidity.
