State of Private Equity (PE) Report Europe Q1 2026

This report explores the defining trends shaping the European PE market, from investment activity to sector dynamics and exits. In an interview with Jean-Christophe Liaubet, EY Partner, Europe West Innovation & AI Leader, this edition explores how AI is reshaping PE and how firms are scaling it to drive sustained impact. Our report offers perspectives to help inform strategy in a dynamic market by highlighting key insights and developments across countries and regions in Europe.

EY strategic actions for enhancing trade automation

Findings from the report:

  1. Three years after the breakthrough of publicly available generative AI (GenAI) tools, how fundamentally has the AI revolution reshaped the PE industry?
  2. AI at scale: What have been the most value-creating use cases successfully deployed across portfolio companies or within PE firms themselves?
  3. If experience had to be distilled into a few core principles, how should PE leaders sequence their AI transformation journey?

Publication: 
9 June 2026

Language: 
English

Number of pages: 
26

Document type: 
Report

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EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Limited is a Swiss company with registered seats in Switzerland providing services to clients in Switzerland.