Private-equity barons have a giant AI problem

During the 2010s there were two reliable ways to make a fortune. The first involved selling enterprise software, the countless computer applications which now dominate office life. Businesses subscribe to these applications, as you might a magazine, as opposed to buying them only once, as you would a book. This “recurring” revenue explains the interest of private-equity funds, the second great gold mine of that era. During the past decade buy-out funds spent one in every three dollars on technology firms. As software ate the world, private equity drank champagne.