Private equity is sitting on 33,575 unsold companies, roughly 1,200 of them software.

The New York Times reported today, consistent with Bain's midyear ~33,000 companies worth $3.8 trillion, up from ~29,000 and $3.6T a year earlier. The software slice is acute: technology buyout deal value down 70% between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, deals over $1B collapsing from 15 to 4. Average holds stretched to seven years from three-to-five, with ~4,000 held 6+ years and ~1,500 held 9+. The exit math for non-AI-native software has stopped clearing.