Blackstone Integrates AI into Investment Strategy Amid Market Transformation
Blackstone President Jonathan Gray has positioned artificial intelligence as the critical lens for evaluating all new deals at the Financial Times Private Capital Summit. The $941 billion asset manager now requires deal teams to assess AI's disruptive potential and value-creation capacity in every investment memo—a recognition that legacy businesses face existential risks comparable to New York taxi medallions during Uber's ascent.
The firm has pivoted from vulnerable sectors like call centers toward AI infrastructure investments, including data centers powering Microsoft and Alphabet's operations. Gray contends Wall Street underestimates AI's industry-wide impact, dismissing bubble concerns while warning of catastrophic consequences for slow-moving incumbents.
