AI pilots are working. They are not scaling.
95% of portfolio AI initiatives meet the business case. 7% of companies reach enterprise scale. That 88-point spread is the new alpha gap.
FTI Consulting's 2026 PE AI Radar found that 95% of portfolio AI initiatives are meeting or exceeding the business case, yet only 7% of portfolio companies have reached enterprise scale. That 88-point spread is the new alpha gap in private equity.
The 7% are not winning because they have more ideas. They are winning because they have more discipline. Leading funds are pulling ahead through governance, talent integration, use-case discipline, and a willingness to scale what works instead of collecting more pilots.
The CEO check: scale or stop pilots. Every pilot that isn't on a path to scale is a cost center with a good story.