PE Fundraising Slows as Exit Drought Pressures LP Capital

Private equity managers endured a second straight year of slower fundraising in 2025 as a thin exit pipeline choked off distributions and left LPs with less capital to recycle into new funds.  

According to PitchBook, PE funds raised about $414 billion last year, the lowest total since 2018. While that figure will rise as late-reporting vehicles are added, the firm expects it to remain well below the elevated levels seen earlier in the cycle and beneath the $468 billion raised in pandemic‑disrupted 2020. 

PitchBook’s latest global private markets fundraising report framed the pullback squarely around subdued realizations. Distributions as a share of NAV hovered around 17% in 2025, compared with a 10‑year average of 26%, leaving LPs with less liquidity to commit and constraining allocations to new funds. 

The slowdown has been especially pronounced at the top end of the market. Capital raised by megafunds over $5 billion fell 43% year over year, even though established managers still dominated activity, capturing roughly 88% of total capital raised. Investor appetite instead tilted toward the midmarket, with funds in the $1 billion to $5 billion range increasing their share of total capital by 7.2 percentage points.  

PitchBook said falling interest rates across most Western economies in 2025 should offer incremental support and help set the stage for a fundraising recovery this year, noting that growth and expansion vehicles boosted their share of commitments from 16.7% in 2024 to 18.8% in 2025. 

Venture capital continued to slog through its own downcycle. Roughly 22% of global VC commitments went to just 10 funds in 2025, the highest concentration since 2012, yet those vehicles raised only $26.7 billion in aggregate—the lowest since 2019 and 35% below 2024 levels.