At Mantle Portal, we work closely with institutional LPs, family offices, and private market allocators who sit at the center of capital formation and deployment. These teams are not swept up in tech hype cycles. They’re practical, detail-oriented, and deeply focused on operational excellence.
So we asked members of the Mantle Portal community what they really think about AI.
Their message was clear: AI has potential, but only if it fits the workflows, data sensitivities, and trust thresholds of the private markets.
Where Things Stand: AI Usage is Climbing, But Institutional Adoption Is Fragmented
AI tools are popping up across the private markets, but their usage is still largely informal and often driven by individual champions rather than team-wide rollouts.
Here’s what we heard:
- Only 29% of respondents use AI tools regularly
- 54% use them occasionally
- At 29% of firms, fewer than 10% of team members are using AI at all
In other words, interest is high, but full-scale adoption is fragmented and often limited to individual power users. Most teams are still in the exploratory phase, testing AI on non-critical workflows while evaluating its trustworthiness.
What AI Is Being Used For: Summarization > Spreadsheets
The strongest use cases so far aren’t financial models or complex analysis. They’re document-related:
- Summarizing long PDFs and memos
- Conducting quick research and thematic synthesis
- Drafting investor updates or portfolio communications
Why?
Because that’s where large language models (LLMs) currently shine: interpreting unstructured documents and distilling insights, not replacing spreadsheets for use cases like financial modeling, competitor benchmarking, or market trend analysis.
Most-cited tools included:
- ChatGPT
- Microsoft Copilot (for Excel and Outlook)
- Claude and Perplexity (for advanced users)
Why Teams Are Still Holding Back
Three major friction points emerged:
- Accuracy & Hallucination Risk:
- 91% of respondents said they’ve seen AI “get it wrong” and can’t afford the downstream consequences.
- Data Privacy & Compliance:
- 63% worry about where sensitive LP and portfolio data is stored and how it’s used
- Prompting & Usability Gaps:
- 30% cited lack of training or unclear ROI from the tools they’ve tried
Here’s how some respondents put it:
- “AI summaries are often directionally right but wrong in nuance.”
- “Prompting is a skill—our team hasn’t been trained.”
- “The current tools aren’t tailored to PE/VC workflows.”
The takeaway?
General-purpose AI tools are not sufficient for teams that need precision, confidentiality, and auditability.
What’s Next: AI Adoption Will Continue–With the Right Tools
Despite the friction, the trajectory is clear. More than 70% of respondents said they expect their use of AI to increase over the next year.
They’re thinking beyond experimentation:
- “I’d like to transition my workflow from doing the work to reviewing the output of highly accurate models.”
- “Actively incorporating AI in more of our workflows, including sourcing and deal review.”
- “We would love to pilot more AI solutions going forward.”
Firms see the potential, but need tools they can trust and workflows that fit their existing operations.
What This Means for Mantle Portal
At Mantle, we’re not layering generic AI onto private markets. We’re building AI that’s grounded in what we’ve heard from our users and works within existing workflows securely, transparently, and with purpose.
- We build AI into your existing workflows, not around them.
- We focus on document intelligence, where value and trust are highest.
- We lead with transparency and control, not opacity.
We’re not chasing the AI hype. We’re building the infrastructure that LPs, family offices, pensions, endowments, and funds of funds can rely on.
Final Word: AI Is Coming to Private Markets, But It Has to Work on Your Terms
This community isn’t chasing AI hype. You adopt tools when they make your team better, faster, and more accurate. You also hold AI to the same standards you apply to every investment decision: rigor, caution, and a clear return on value. That’s the bar we hold ourselves to at Mantle.
If you’re exploring how AI can streamline capital calls, document workflows, or portfolio operations, we’d love to show you what we’re building.
Book a demo for Mantle Portal today →
Kitty Shum is the Head of Product for Mantle Portal, where she leads product strategy and development for Mantle’s AI-powered platform serving institutional LPs, family offices, and alternative asset managers.