New research from Carne Group (Carne) has revealed strong optimism in the infrastructure sector, driven by macro tailwinds and fundraising momentum.
Though fundraising dipped to USDUS9.7 billion last year, bringing total infrastructure AUM to USDUS1.6 trillion, optimism increased in 2025, with 84 per cent of managers surveyed expecting inflows to rise.
This positive sentiment is underpinned by the major investment opportunity represented by growing demand for new infrastructure associated with AI, as well as the net zero transition. Alongside this comes increased participation in the asset class by retail investors taking advantage of semi-liquid fund vehicles, and reforms like the UK’s LTAF regime.
AI has also been at the heart of respondents’ operational reform, with only 8 per cent of managers saying they don’t yet use AI in areas including investment strategy, risk management, and compliance, the firm says.
Every respondent acknowledged AI as being critical to delivering alpha, with a quarter of managers (24 per cent) calling it ‘very important’. Over the next three years, they identified idea generation and investment decision making as being areas where AI will have the biggest positive impact, followed by risk management.
The findings are part of Carne’s four-part private markets report series, which surveyed 100 C-suite executives from global private market fund managers, including 25 infrastructure specialists collectively overseeing USUSD175 billion in assets under management. The research captures how industry leaders view the market’s growth trajectory, the challenges shaping their strategies, and the solutions they are deploying to thrive amid increasing operational and regulatory complexity.
Des Fullam, Chief Regulatory and Client Solutions Officer at Carne Group, says: “Decarbonisation and the rise of AI are driving infrastructure investment. The building of wind and solar farms, data centres for AI, and the grid to power both data centres and electric vehicles all require long-term financing but come with relatively predictable long-term payoffs. As government finances come under pressure infrastructure funding gaps in areas such as affordable housing, transport and energy will need to be filled. Even as the ESG landscape evolves, the appetite for long-term returns should trump short-term politics.”
Underlying market dynamics driving growth
Carne’s survey highlights how infrastructure managers are combining optimism with operational reform to meet investor and regulatory demands, as the sector anticipates higher inflows, despite recent market headwinds.
Technology and outsourcing are central to this evolution:
92 per cent of infrastructure managers now use AI to support investment strategy, risk management, and compliance
92 per cent plan to increase outsourcing, with as compliance and reporting requirements the primary driver, followed by difficulty recruiting the right staff
72 per cent predict growth in retail fundraising, driven by regulatory reforms and demand from individual investors seeking exposure to long-term, stable assets
96 per cent expect consolidation across the sector in the next five years, with nearly half predicting a ‘sharp’ rise
Des Fullam finished by stating: “Infrastructure managers are under intense pressure to deliver returns while meeting higher governance and reporting standards. Outsourcing isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about building the resilience needed to manage complex, capital-intensive projects. The right partners can bring the specialist expertise and technology that free managers to focus on investment opportunities in energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, areas that will define the sector’s growth in the years ahead.”
