Blackstone Group’s (NYSE:BX) private equity fund for wealthy investors posted its strongest monthly performance on record in May, fueled largely by its investment in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Class I (BXPE) returned 4.3% net in May, lifting its year-to-date gain to 11.4%, according to a Bloomberg report citing an investor letter. Since launching in 2024, the fund has returned 19.1% net, including a 20% gain last year.
BXPE can invest up to roughly 30% of its net asset value in standalone investments outside Blackstone’s institutional strategies, giving it flexibility to back high-growth areas such as AI and other longer-duration assets that are better suited to perpetual investment vehicles.
The fund deployed more than $2.5 billion in the second quarter, including follow-on investments in Anthropic and a new position in payments processor Stripe. The fund has also invested in OpenAI and AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave Inc., and it took an early stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX before the company’s anticipated IPO.
BXPE noted in the letter that the prolonged slump in buyouts and IPO activity is beginning to show signs of recovery.
"We are seeing a more constructive exit environment, with increased IPO activity" including SpaceX’s public offering, "which we anticipate will support realizations across BXPE’s portfolio," the firm said in the letter.
AI companies are attracting a disproportionate share of capital inflows compared with other private market sectors. More than 75% of limited partners (LPs) intend to allocate to AI in the next 12 months. That’s more than four times that of blockchain.
AI Exit Activity Remains Subdued
“We’re witnessing unprecedented investor conviction colliding with a closed exit window,” Ilja Hauerhof, New Product Development Director, Private Markets, S&P Global Market Intelligence told Benzinga.
Broad-based endowments, wealth managers, and family offices are all increasing their exposure to AI, even as opportunities for scalable investments are narrowing.
"AI investment has become critically concentrated,” Hauerhof explained. “With 82% of new capital flowing into mega-deals above $1 billion—primarily U.S.-based platforms. There is real opportunity in underfunded companies that are quietly scaling—those that the market isn’t fully pricing yet."
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