Fundraising’s Next Chapter: Technology, Efficiency and Opportunity

For the past several years, private capital fundraising has been defined by a familiar set of challenges: constrained liquidity, slower exits and increasingly selective investors. While those headwinds remain, the conversation is beginning to shift.

The emerging story in 2026 is not simply about another difficult fundraising environment but how technology — particularly artificial intelligence (AI) — is changing the competitive dynamics of fundraising itself. SS&C Intralinks’ 2026 Global Private Capital Fundraising Report, produced with PitchBook data, explores why although fundraising activity remains subdued globally, fundraising processes are becoming more efficient, capital concentration is beginning to ease and AI is emerging as a new factor influencing both LP expectations and GP competitiveness. The report features perspectives from industry leaders on the front lines of AI adoption, including PPR Capital Management, Agellus Capital, Palm Peak Capital, All Seas Capital and Cloverlay.

A market searching for its next phase

The fundraising market remains under pressure. Capital deployment and fundraising activity continue to reflect the lingering effects of a prolonged liquidity crunch, with distributions to investors still lagging historical norms. Many limited partners (LPs) remain focused on portfolio management, rebalancing and liquidity needs rather than expanding manager relationships.

According to the report, 2025 marked the third consecutive year of declining global fundraising activity, while annualized fundraising momentum suggests 2026 could see one of the lowest levels of fund closes in recent history. At the same time, private market net asset value (NAV) reached a record high, highlighting the growing backlog of unrealized assets still waiting for liquidity events.

Yet beneath the headline numbers, the market appears to be moving toward a more sustainable equilibrium. Fundraising timelines are improving, fund sizes are normalizing and some of the extreme concentration of capital seen in recent years is beginning to ease. Rather than being a market defined by a handful of mega-funds capturing disproportionate investor attention, there are signs that opportunities are broadening across the fundraising landscape.

In fact, median and average times to close a fund have fallen to their lowest levels in a decade, suggesting that managers able to raise capital in today's environment are doing so more efficiently than many expected. This normalization may not generate the same headlines as the fundraising boom years, but it could ultimately create a healthier environment for both investors and fund managers.
 

Not all strategies are moving in the same direction

One of the most important developments in today's fundraising market is the growing divergence between asset classes. Strategies tied to long-term structural growth themes continue to attract investor interest despite broader market caution. Venture capital remains closely linked to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, while infrastructure funds are benefiting from increasing demand for digital infrastructure, energy modernization and data center expansion.

At the same time, secondaries continue to gain momentum as one of the more resilient fundraising categories, as investors increasingly look for ways to unlock liquidity amid extended holding periods and slower exit activity.

These trends highlight a broader reality: LPs are becoming increasingly targeted in how they allocate capital. Rather than pursuing broad exposure, investors are focusing on strategies they believe are best positioned to benefit from long-term secular shifts.

And few shifts are larger than AI.

AI is becoming a fundraising differentiator

For years, fundraising success was primarily measured through track record, relationships and performance metrics. Those factors remain essential, but they're no longer the only indicators LPs are evaluating. Today, investors are increasingly scrutinizing how fund managers leverage technology across their organizations.

Across the private markets, managers are embedding AI into workflows ranging from due diligence and portfolio analysis to investor reporting, data management and fundraising. While these capabilities may not immediately translate into fund performance, they are creating measurable improvements in speed, efficiency and scalability. In a market where resources are constrained and the fundraising market remains highly competitive, those operational advantages matter. More importantly, they can help level the playing field.

Increasingly, firms are looking to purpose-built platforms to accelerate these workflows. Solutions such as SS&C Intralinks FundCentre AI™ are designed to help managers streamline fund operations, surface insights from investor and fund data, and reduce the administrative burden associated with fundraising and reporting.

A new opportunity for emerging managers

Historically, emerging managers have faced significant disadvantages when competing against larger, more established firms. According to the report’s findings, first-time fundraising activity could fall to record lows in 2026, underscoring the challenges many emerging managers face when competing for investor attention. AI has the potential to change that dynamic.

By automating time-intensive processes such as DDQ responses, data aggregation, document analysis and investor communications, AI-enabled platforms can allow lean teams to operate with capabilities previously available only to much larger organizations.

This doesn't eliminate the importance of experience or track record. Relationships and performance will always matter. But technology is creating new ways for emerging managers to demonstrate sophistication, responsiveness and operational excellence — qualities that increasingly influence LP decision-making.

As capital becomes less concentrated among the industry's largest funds, these efficiencies may create new opportunities for emerging managers to compete on capability rather than scale alone. In many ways, AI is helping shift the conversation from firm size to firm capability.

The future of fundraising will be technology-enabled

The private markets industry has always evolved alongside changing market conditions. Today's evolution, however, extends beyond fundraising cycles or liquidity events. AI is rapidly becoming embedded across the entire investment life cycle — from fundraising and due diligence to portfolio management and value creation. As a result, technological maturity is becoming a core component of fundraising readiness.

Firms that embrace AI thoughtfully will be better positioned to improve efficiency, strengthen investor engagement and uncover new opportunities for growth. Those who delay adoption risk falling behind as investor expectations continue to rise.

The fundraising environment may remain challenging in the near term. But the firms that emerge strongest may not simply be the ones with the longest track records or largest funds. They may be the ones who learn how to combine investment expertise with the power of AI.

Click here to download the full report.