A New Private-Equity Firm Specializes in Giving Companies AI Glow-Ups -- WSJ

By Mark Maurer

A new private-equity firm focused on using artificial intelligence to boost revenue at portfolio companies is testing the strategy on its first acquisition.

Aldaron, co-founded by private markets and engineering veterans from Palantir and the Carlyle Group, recently closed its debut fund with roughly $885 million in commitments, its founders told The Wall Street Journal, bringing its total assets under management to close to $1 billion.

The firm in March bought a majority stake in Oak Point Partners, which buys what it calls remnant assets from companies, often in the course of bankruptcies. Oak Point believes its revenue could rise as much as fivefold over the next four to five years under Aldaron's ownership.

The private-equity industry, built on a playbook centered on cutting costs and optimizing companies' financial results, sees massive potential in AI's ability to expand businesses, establish new revenue streams and create new product lines. Larger private-equity firms including Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman have AI-related initiatives, including a joint venture in which engineers embed in portfolio companies.

Aldaron is part of a new breed of companies centering their entire business models around applying new technologies. Earlier this week, the recently launched firm Ithaca Holdings announced a deal to buy dating-app company Bumble with the goal of applying advanced technologies.

Aldaron's fundraising move comes amid an industrywide slowdown in raising capital, with investors becoming increasingly selective.

Aldaron co-founder Jay Grewal co-founded Palantir's commercial business, where he led a team of over 600 engineers, and helped set up its enterprise data management platform. Co-founder Evan Mendez worked on Carlyle's investment team, focused on U.S. technology buyouts. Will Oberndorf, also a co-founder, led the private markets practice at a family office founded by his father Bill Oberndorf, an investor and political donor.

Aldaron's investments are aimed at increasing head count and improving operations at portfolio companies by accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence. Aldaron avoids businesses whose strategy involves laying people off, Mendez said.

Aldaron's name is a word used by author J.R.R. Tolkien that loosely translates to "tree" and, to the firm's founders, reflects growth. The firm is targeting acquisitions of U.S. companies with enterprise values ranging from $200 million to $1 billion, Mendez said.

Half of Aldaron's 12-person staff, based in New York and San Francisco, are engineers who build systems alongside managers. Some of the engineers, including Grewal, will sit on investment committees and boards of its companies, executives said.

"If you want to own the whole problem and actually do the transformation, you can't come in with just a limited skill set of being able to just deploy AI," Grewal said.

At Oak Point, Aldaron deployed AI tools to help speed up Oak Point's research and data analysis. The tools identify 10 to 12 high-potential opportunities a week involving dormant assets that it can convert into cash, up from one to two previously, said Chief Executive Eric Linn.

Oak Point's workforce has grown by 20% to 75 employees since March, amid the AI push, with the aim of reaching 100 employees in a year, Linn said. Most of the new employees are focused on deal sourcing and developing technology.

Write to Mark Maurer at mark.maurer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2026 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)