Raw data alone didn’t justify bigger multiples back then.
In the mid-2010s, private equity funds went on a purchasing spree with a simple thesis: merge data assets and sell at bigger multiple. I was skeptical. In my book Ask, Measure, Learn, I cautioned that raw data without a focus on impact is just noise. You can plot a line with two points; a million more won’t raise valuation. Transformers will flip that script. Now, with generative AI, the situation is fundamentally different for private equity.
— AI For Private Equity — The Future Of B2B Distribution · Forbes