What does EQT's Jean Salata mean by 'bragawatts'?

He uses the term for contracts that companies signed with many counterparties without being able to deliver on time with power connected. He said signing and delivering are two very different things.

Why did EQT skip the private-credit boom?

Salata said credit is an origination and beta business where the best case is an 8% return, and that EQT's strengths in equity investing and operations are not relevant to it.

How big is the private-equity secondaries market, according to Salata?

He said there were $250 billion of PE secondaries deals last year, double the level of three or four years ago, and he expects it to double again in the next five years.

AI Business & IndustrySemafor Tech10h agoNov 2, 2026, 22:01 JST

EQT's Salata: 92% of data-center revenue from hyperscalers

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3 Key Points

What happened
EQT CEO Jean Salata said the firm holds $100 billion of energy assets and that 92% of its data-center contracted revenues are with hyperscalers, while dismissing rivals' 'bragawatts' deals as contracts that may not be delivered with power connected.
Why it matters
Salata argues EQT's equity-and-operations model differs from the private-credit and neocloud trade, so its AI buildout exposure may carry different delivery risk than firms piling into signed-but-unbuilt capacity.

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Context & Analysis

Salata's remarks come as private-equity firms face a harder fundraising environment. He noted that this year the top 10 firms in the world raised 50% of the capital, and that smaller funds without visible carry risk becoming 'zombie funds'. Against that backdrop, EQT has positioned itself as an equity investor close to sectors rather than a lender, a choice Salata defended by arguing that credit is 'a beta business' with an 8% best-case return.

The AI buildout is where EQT's positioning becomes concrete. Salata said the firm ended up in the middle of it because it had been investing in power assets and data centers for cloud migration, giving it $100 billion of energy assets that he described as the limiting factor for AI right now. That legacy, rather than a deliberate AI pivot, is what he credits for the firm's current stance.

His caution about 'bragawatts' sits alongside a broader warning that public-market investors are putting money into things they do not understand. Salata also pointed to structural change in private markets, saying he expects secondaries to become a much bigger part of the industry, and to politics and policy, rather than market forces alone, shaping where capital flows — including the case for a European AI champion like Mistral.

FAQ

What does EQT's Jean Salata mean by 'bragawatts'?: He uses the term for contracts that companies signed with many counterparties without being able to deliver on time with power connected. He said signing and delivering are two very different things.
Why did EQT skip the private-credit boom?: Salata said credit is an origination and beta business where the best case is an 8% return, and that EQT's strengths in equity investing and operations are not relevant to it.
How big is the private-equity secondaries market, according to Salata?: He said there were $250 billion of PE secondaries deals last year, double the level of three or four years ago, and he expects it to double again in the next five years.

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