With IPO markets effectively frozen and AI-driven mega-rounds absorbing virtually all high-quality deal flow, private equity and venture capital have collapsed into the same battlefield, fighting over the same late-stage technology deals once clearly owned by VC. Even family offices are muscling in, writing checks once reserved for growth funds. The result is a barbell-shaped market where top-tier players crowd into a handful of oversubscribed AI and Big Tech opportunities, while second- and third-tier funds face an existential question: in a world where capital is abundant but true opportunities are scarce, what, if anything, do they actually have left to do? READ MORE