Private company outlook
Digital investment and AI in private markets
More money moving to AI and digital initiatives
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many private companies are pointing to AI and digital investment as core near term priorities—and the pace of investment is accelerating. To better understand private companies’ views on AI for business, we asked 100 leaders from US private companies with annual revenues of $100 million to $1 billion+ about the approaches to (and expectations of) their digital initiatives. The answers reveal something of a maturity gap between higher and lower revenue private companies, including funding approaches, stage of adoption, digital transformation ROI, and using AI for decision making.
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What are private company leaders saying about AI and digital investments?
of high-revenue companies plan a significant increase in digital transformation.
see their boards as proactive on technology investment oversight.
have expecatations for realizing digital and AI investments’ value within 6-12 months.
Key survey takeaways
- Digital and AI are core near-term priorities. Among private company executives surveyed, 52% selected increasing the use of AI across the organization as a top priority. Nearly two thirds (63%) report they’re actively investing in such digital transformation.
- Assessing ROI from AI reveals a maturity gap. When measuring ROI, 64% of higher revenue companies ($500+ million annual revenue) report moderate or significant ROI from AI investments, compared to 11% for lower revenue companies.
- Digital funding comes from existing financial resources. Half of private company leaders (50%) say internal budget reprioritization will be the primary funding source for digital investments over the next year
"Private companies are moving beyond AI experimentation and investing in it to drive growth, improve productivity, and make faster decisions,” said Wolfe Tone, vice chair and US Deloitte Private leader. “Many are starting to see returns, and continuing the momentum will depend on how they integrate AI across leadership, governance, and the workforce. Private companies have an advantage because they can often move with greater agility and align decisions more quickly, but realizing the full value of AI will depend on how effectively they translate that agility into disciplined execution at scale."
Wolfe Tone, US Deloitte Private leader
About the survey
What’s top of mind for private enterprises? Approximately every quarter, we survey 100 private company leaders to find out. We ask them about strategies, risks, and opportunities they see ahead for their private or family-owned enterprise. That research turns into private company outlooks—which provide you with useful insights for now and in the near future. Check out some of our recent topics below, and discover how fellow private enterprises navigate growth, financials, talent, and more.
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