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ChatGPT, Anthropic point the way for PE investments in AI; plus, there’s a new CEO at Carlyle

Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with the Wire on a busy Monday morning.

ChatGPT is the hot new technology everyone’s talking about lately, and it’s among the developments PE Hub is following this morning. We’ve got an interview with a tech investment banker who has some insights on investing in the AI trend.

We also share a scoop from our partners at PE Hub Europe, and there’s going to be a new CEO of Carlyle.

Unfortunately,there’s some sad news from Harvest Partners, which announced the passing of president Jay Wilkins this morning.

There’s more on all of this news, below.

Tech opportunities. Investments in “generative” artificial intelligence (AI that can create new content) are heating up quickly.

Earlier in February, Google teamed up with Anthropic, including an investment in the AI startup, reportedly to the tune of $300 million.

And in January, Microsoft announced the third phase of its “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.

To gain insights on the opportunities for AI and other tech subsectors in 2023, PE Hub’s Georgina Tzanetos spoke with Wayne Kawarabayashi, partner and head of M&A, at technology-focused investment bank Union Square Advisors, which has headquarters in New York and San Francisco.

You can read the full interview here.

Cutting energy costs. Over at PE Hub Europe’s Irien Joseph got a scoop, when she reported earlier today that Ara Partners, headquartered in Houston, acquired a majority stake in Wattstor, a London-based provider of automated carbon reduction and electricity cost-saving technology.

People moves. As expected, Carlyle has named Harvey Schwartz to lead the PE firm as CEO, effective February 15. Bill Conway will step down as interim CEO, maintaining his role as co-chairman of the board.

The move follows Kewsong Lee’s unexpected resignation in August.

Schwartz, you may recall, is the former president and co-chief operating officer of The Goldman Sachs Group. He left Goldman in 2018, after David Solomon was named CEO, taking over from Lloyd Blankfein.

Deeply missed. Harvest Partners shared some sad news with us this morning.

Here’s the statement from the mid-market New York firm:

Harvest Partners mourns the loss of John C. (Jay) Wilkins, Jr.

Harvest Partners, LP, is deeply saddened to announce that Jay Wilkins passed away unexpectedly on February 4, 2023.

Jay’s sudden death is a shock to everyone at Harvest Partners and is a great loss to all of us.  He was a true friend and a dedicated partner.  We send our deepest sympathies to Jay’s family.

Jay joined Harvest in 2010 as a Principal and has been President of Harvest since 2021.  As a leader of the Firm, he devoted meaningful time mentoring the investment staff, investing and, in keeping with his personal practice, spearheading charitable initiatives.

Michael DeFlorio, CEO of Harvest, said, “Jay was a talented investor and great leader and friend and will be deeply missed by the Firm.” 

Jay is survived by his wife McCartney and son Jack.

On behalf of PE Hub and Buyouts, we offer our condolences. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with more news on PE dealmaking.

All the best until then,

MK

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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