Just Curious: Applied AI for Value Creation
Just Curious is the podcast of Pluris, a platform connecting investors and operators with the world’s leading applied AI experts. Each episode turns AI from buzzword to bottom line through sharp case studies and practical conversations. We explore how AI is used to grow revenue, expand margins, improve operations, and create measurable value inside real businesses.
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Just Curious: Applied AI for Value Creation
Amrit Saxena - SaxeCap | The New AI Playbook for Private Equity
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Amrit Saxena, CEO of SaxeCap, shares how he and his team have led more than 100 AI transformations and advised over 40 private equity funds on using AI to expand margins, accelerate growth, and reshape value creation. His perspective matters because SaxeCap has pioneered AI-levered buyouts and proven repeatable frameworks for turning workflow inefficiencies and data assets into enterprise value. In this episode, he breaks down what actually drives returns—and what doesn’t—when applying AI inside middle-market businesses.
You’ll Learn:
- How to evaluate AI risk and upside during diligence using business-model signals, workflow analysis, and proprietary data assets
- Why early EBITDA wins within the first 60 days are essential for building AI adoption and organizational momentum
- How to quantify value from AI across labor optimization, human-capital augmentation, and AI-driven product expansion
- The functional areas where AI repeatedly delivers ROI, especially customer service, operations, and engineering
- How to determine whether an AI transformation can become a defensible moat through proprietary data and distribution advantages
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Evolution of value creation in private equity
05:15 How SaxeCap supports diligence
07:00 Signals of AI risk and opportunity
08:20 Speed to EBITDA impact
09:50 Transforming legacy or lean organizations
12:20 Cost vs. revenue value creation mix
14:00 Where AI delivers repeatable ROI
15:00 Common mistakes PE firms make with AI
17:40 AI transformation examples
22:55 Value creation ranges
24:55 Generative AI transformation example
27:30 Can AI be a moat?
30:00 Who should reach out to SaxeCap
31:20 Three AI questions for investment committees
32:40 Closing
Links:
- Explore more interviews and Amrit Saxena's expert profile: https://www.justcurious.io/experts/amrit-saxena"
- Connect with Amrit Saxena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrit-saxena-33432035/
- Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2UigwwWcl6g
Just Curious is the content and podcast brand of Pluris, helping leading operators and investors cut through a noisy AI market and find the right partners — from strategy and assessments to full-stack AI development. Our network of applied AI experts spans generative and agentic AI, workflow automation, and custom AI-powered software, helping teams turn curiosity into measurable value.
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