08: Software, Soft Where? How Vista Equity Partners Is Evolving In The AI Era

In this packed episode, Glenn Schorr sits down with Vista’s President David Breach for a discussion covering everything from how AI won’t kill software, but in fact make it better, how the power of incumbency is helping software adapt, embrace and be the delivery mechanism for agentic tools, and how the industry is looking to rearchitect pricing strategies as we moved from the software-as-a-service world to one of software-as-a-worker. And of course, covered current trends across software private equity and how Vista is thinking about the upcoming debt maturity wall. **Episode Timestamped Overview:** 00:00 Introduction and episode setup02:07 Vista Equity Partners overview and business model05:15 David Breach’s unique professional background07:20 Market anxiety, public perception, and the GenAI “elephant in the room”13:14 Comparing SaaS/cloud shift to today’s AI transformation16:34 How to regain confidence: KPIs and what Vista looks at21:16 How Vista underwrites AI risk and opportunity25:47 The power of incumbency and real-world examples30:13 Vista’s institutionalized approach to helping portfolio companies adapt to AI36:27 Evolving monetization: Usage vs. outcome-based models40:42 Compute costs, hyperscaler relationships, and scale44:20 Investment opportunities in the current market49:35 What LPs want to know about GenAI and portfolio resilience52:24 Exit environment and outlook for software PE55:08 Key takeaways and closing remarks ***Applicable current disclosures regarding the companies discussed in this video are available at the offices of Evercore ISI: 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055, and at the following site: [evercoreisi.mediasterling.com/disclosure⁠](http://evercoreisi.mediasterling.com/disclosure%E2%81%A0)