2025 Investment Priorities: How Resilient Leaders Are Turning Uncertainty Into Alpha

Insights for Investor Relations Teams Navigating a Fragmented World

In a year marked by slow growth, sticky inflation, and fragmented geopolitics, investor relations professionals at venture and private equity firms face a familiar paradox: abundant capital paired with limited visibility.

The 2025 Capgemini Research Institute report, Navigating Uncertainty with Confidence, reveals where global business leaders are placing their bets—and how allocators can decode these shifts into differentiated investment theses and LP conversations.

🔍 The Mood: Confident—but Cautious

Despite the headlines, optimism is quietly rebounding.

• 62% of global firms express confidence in their 2025 growth outlook—up 6 percentage points from 2024.

• But optimism is paired with realism:

  56% of executives are prioritizing cost control over top-line growth, with an eye toward margin resilience and operating leverage.

🧭 What this means for IR teams:

• GPs raising new funds in 2025 must frame strategy around efficiency, not exuberance.

• LPs are asking, “Where is this fund cutting fat—and where is it doubling down for long-term advantage?”

📦 Supply Chain Transformation Is an Alpha Theme Again

2025’s quiet breakout category? Supply chain modernization.

• 63% of firms are increasing investment here—up from 48% in 2024.

• The drivers: nearshoring, friendshoring, and logistical reconfiguration in response to geopolitics.

“Trade used to be about price. Now it’s about alignment.”
—Capgemini Research

Where the smart money is moving:

• VC: Vertical logistics SaaS, AI-powered supplier intelligence, embedded compliance.

• PE: Roll-ups in regional warehousing, temperature-controlled transport, and visibility infrastructure.

🔎 Altss Insight:
Track LPs increasingly committing to industrial tech, decarbonized logistics, and U.S./EU-based supply chain platforms.

🌱 Sustainability Is Slower—but Stickier

While the pace of green investment has moderated, the strategic relevance of ESG is intensifying:

• 62% of businesses plan to increase sustainability spending in 2025.

• Focus areas include climate tech, circular product design, biodiversity protection, and water efficiency.

“ESG isn’t dead—it’s maturing. The capital is moving from slogans to systems.”

Investor-side implications:

• Climate tech deals are shifting from frontier risk to critical infra.

• LPs are seeking funds with real ESG integration—not just slideware.

• New climate disclosure mandates (CSRD, SEC) are creating alpha for audit-aligned solutions.

📊 Altss platform note:
Use our LP filters to find institutional allocators with climate-specific mandates, Article 9 alignment, or biodiversity carveouts.

🤖 AI Investment: From Pilots to Platforms

No surprise: AI and GenAI remain top investment priorities. But 2025 is not about demos—it’s about deployment.

• U.S.-based firms (especially mid-market) are outpacing global peers in GenAI rollouts.

• Use cases are maturing: product design, ops optimization, CX automation.

“We’ve moved from proof-of-concept to ROI or shut it down.”

VC/PE angle:

• IR professionals should position portfolio AI companies around proven deployment models.

• Growth stories will hinge on real productivity metrics, not theoretical TAM.

Altss product use-case:
Access fund profiles actively investing in applied GenAI—sorted by stage, sector, and enterprise readiness index.

🛠️ CX + Engineering: Where Innovation Capital Compounds

2025 capital is flowing toward hyper-personalized customer experiences and product-led differentiation.

• Firms are prioritizing investment in engineering talent, R&D acceleration, and UX tooling.

• This mirrors LP interest in funds with real IP creation—especially in vertical SaaS and B2B infrastructure.

How GPs should respond:

• Highlight engineering-centric hiring, velocity metrics, and retention curves.

• For later-stage funds, map how product leadership translates into EBITDA uplift or exit velocity.

🚧 Red Flags: Tariffs and Talent Gaps

Two structural risks are keeping capital cautious:

1. Trade tensions:

   • 70% of executives cite rising tariffs and realigned alliances as growth threats.

   • Asia-Pacific remains volatile. Supply-chain-linked funds must highlight regional de-risking.

2. Digital talent shortage:

   • 61% of leaders say a lack of skilled tech workers impedes growth.

   • Especially relevant to VC/PE-backed firms struggling to hire AI/ML talent post-Series B.

What Altss tracks:

• LP appetite for U.S.-only vs. global exposure

• Funds sourcing AI-native founders vs. acquiring talent through M&A

• Talent-mobility signals tied to fund performance

🧠 Final Take: In 2025, Strategy > Sentiment

Markets are uncertain.
Headlines are noisy.
But investment strategy in 2025 favors those who align with real business priorities—not narrative cycles.

📌 IR teams at venture and PE firms should anchor messaging around:

• Resilience via cost efficiency

• Edge through AI and product innovation

• Durability via nearshoring and ESG maturity

“Confidence isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about allocating capital where uncertainty pays.”