PitchBook

OpenAI just launched something big: Prism, a free collaborative workspace designed for scientists and researchers and powered by GPT-5.2. Basically, Prism is positioned as a research-focused workspace rather than a standalone model release, with functionality oriented around writing, reasoning, and collaboration. The environment is built to: 👨🔬 Support long-form scientific workflows, including drafting and revising papers, structuring arguments 🔎 Exploring hypotheses 📊Maintaining shared context across contributors, with GPT-5.2 embedded directly into the process. From a product perspective, Prism reflects a broader shift toward AI-enabled workspaces that integrate model access into persistent, multi-user environments. Instead of relying on ad hoc prompt interactions, the platform emphasizes continuity, versioning, and collaboration, aligning more closely with how academic and institutional research teams operate. The strategy is about embeddedness. The launch also underscores a strategic trend in the AI ecosystem, where model providers are increasingly using workflow tools as a distribution layer. By offering Prism at no cost, OpenAI lowers barriers to adoption among smaller labs and independent researchers while embedding its models deeper into the research lifecycle.

Venture capital continued to grapple with fundraising and liquidity challenges despite a handful of high-profile exits in 2025.💰 On the bright side, deal activity began to expand in Q4 among first financings, sparking renewed optimism. ✨ That’s not the whole story, though. Behind the veneer of #AI outperformance, most verticals continued to experience stagnation. What does this mean for VC growth in 2026? 🤔 The latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, created in partnership with the National Venture Capital Association and presented by J.P. Morgan Commercial and Investment Banking, Dentons, and EisnerAmper delivers an in-depth analysis of current market trends and important developments. Learn more about the dynamics shaping investment sentiment with insights from the report ➡️ https://pitchb.co/0Sqvk8

With leverage holding steady and return-boosting rate hikes a thing of the past, European syndicated loan investors' compensation, relative to risk, has hit its lowest level since 2021, according to PitchBook LCD. This analysis uses a spread-per-unit-of-leverage metric, which provides a normalized view of risk by measuring the yield on an investment, per each turn of leverage. The full analysis is available here: https://lnkd.in/dyCjDixN PitchBook Taron Wade #credit #leveragedloan #privateequity

It is great to be able to share my insights with the WSJ. VC investment has become AI investment. 65% of 2025 deal value went to AI, and almost 40% of deals were into AI companies. LPs allocating to the VC strategy are seeking out AI-focused managers, and the heightened focus is pushing companies to raise faster, and valuations are being closed at much higher prices than the rest of the market. AI activity is increasing at a time when low distributions back to LPs have capped new commitments, and the liquidity outlook is still uncertain. That said, corporates are still going to be putting money into private AI companies, so there shouldn't be an expectation of deployment into AI to slow down any time soon.

Throughout 2025, the APAC region experienced major policy changes, capital reallocation, and the ongoing effects of US tariffs—changing investor outlooks on key sectors. These conditions, along with an improving exit landscape and new liquidity solutions, point to a measured year of recovery for APAC that favors resilience and sustainability over broad acceleration. Discover the ongoing trends shaping the 2026 market and what to expect in the year ahead with insights from our dedicated APAC analysts ➡️ https://pitchb.co/rf2oJy

Despite early volatility brought on by US tariff announcements, American private equity had its strongest year since its historic peak in 2021, spurred by easing interest rates, widely available dry powder, and growing investor confidence. With abundant megadeals and exits, the asset class reached over $1.2 trillion in deal value for the second time ever with over 9,000 deals.    Will private equity continue to ride this comeback into 2026 and overcome its lingering fundraising challenges? PitchBook Senior Private Equity Analyst, Jinny Choi, is here to tell you about the market trends that shaped the past year and what to expect in 2026 in this year’s annual US PE Breakdown video, presented in partnership with CohnReznick. Download the full report here ➡️ https://pitchb.co/SZ3CBf

#China’s biopharma ecosystem is becoming increasingly defined by its expanding role as a global engine for early-stage asset generation. 🇨🇳 Long viewed primarily as a generics powerhouse, China’s biopharma sector has reshaped itself around next-generation therapeutics paired with efficient clinical-trial infrastructure to de-risk these assets. PitchBook Senior Biotech & Pharma Analyst, Ben Zercher, PhD, breaks down China's progress in the sector, and how 2026 could redefine global competition. Learn more here ➡️ https://pitchb.co/tlZebq

These recent headlines are a good reminder that market momentum doesn’t always show up evenly. Beneath the top-line numbers, capital is concentrating, exit paths are evolving, and negotiating power is shifting in ways that matter for how deals get done. ➡️ It’s becoming a founder’s dealmaking environment, but at what cost? Founders are regaining leverage in deal negotiations as competition for high-quality assets intensifies. While that shift can support long-term vision and alignment, it also raises questions around pricing discipline, governance, and risk-sharing in a market still recalibrating. http://spr.ly/6044h63Mq ➡️ Why IPOs may no longer be the gold standard for European PE exits Public listings are losing ground as the default exit path for European private equity. Volatile markets, valuation gaps, and execution risk are pushing sponsors toward alternatives like sponsor-to-sponsor deals, secondaries, and structured exits. Flexibility, rather than format, is becoming the priority. @Emily Lai http://spr.ly/6045h63MS ➡️ Fortune: US VC deal value soared in 2025, but there’s a catch Fortune highlights PitchBook data showing US venture deal value rebounding sharply in 2025, driven largely by a handful of late-stage and mega-round financings. While total dollars were up, deal count and exit activity tell a more uneven story, reinforcing how concentrated capital deployment remains beneath the surface. http://spr.ly/6047h63Mt

💥 Huge deal for EQT Group and Coller Capital as they combine forces. 📈 2025 was another record year for PE secondaries which have taken centre stage as the European IPO market remains muted for a third consecutive year. ⚠️ However, PE distributions as a percentage of NAV remain historically low in Europe at around 20%, versus a 10-year average of 28%. For more, please read Bloomberg's original piece as well as our latest PitchBook European PE flagship report. Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/egpAEVNR Report: https://lnkd.in/eaag88s4

Three Democratic senators are sounding the alarm about lucrative contracts and loans the Pentagon provided to companies linked to Donald Trump Jr. In a letter sent Thursday to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers - Senators Elizabeth Warren, Andy Kim and Richard Blumenthal - requested information on whether DoD decisions to hand out loans and contracts to companies "associated with the president's son may have been affected by conflicts of interest." Between April 2025 and November 2025, companies in 1789 Capital's portfolio received more than $70 million worth of contracts from the Trump administration, the lawmakers wrote, citing data from research firm PitchBook. Learn more in Matt Egan's full story for CNN here ➡️ https://pitchb.co/CPG7lJ