Private equity used to sit at a distance from technology. That distance is gone. A growing share of buyouts and growth deals now center on software and technology-enabled businesses, and the operators, advisors, and investment professionals doing that work are concentrated in the Bay Area. Which raises a practical question for a private equity leader: where do you actually find your peers?
This is our short list of the private equity communities worth your time in Silicon Valley in 2026 — what each one is, and who should join it. They are not all the same kind of thing. Some are small, standing rooms built on trust; others are large annual forums built for reach. Both have their place, so we have been clear about which is which.
1. The Private Equity Executive Forum (Open Future Forum)
The Private Equity Executive Forum is Open Future Forum's community for the leaders of private equity, based in Silicon Valley. It convenes senior private equity executives, operating partners, investment professionals, and selected leaders serving the PE ecosystem for small, off-the-record dinners and gatherings across the Bay Area.
It runs on the same principle as every Open Future Forum room: everyone in the room is a giver. There is no pitch, no agenda, and no recording — just the conversations private equity leaders can only have off the record, with peers carrying the same mandate. The private dinner is the heart of it, with panels, wine, golf, sailing, Giants games, and AI briefings tailored to the investment lifecycle around it.
Best for: private equity partners, operating partners, and investment professionals who want candid peer relationships in an intimate, invitation-only setting.
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. It runs a year-round calendar for senior executives and investors — CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders — through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings.
2. Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) — San Francisco & Silicon Valley
The Association for Corporate Growth is the established middle-market M&A and private equity community, and it runs both San Francisco and Silicon Valley chapters. ACG San Francisco has served the Bay Area for more than 45 years, and the wider organization connects a global network of more than 100,000 middle-market professionals who invest in, own, and advise growing companies.
For private equity, ACG is where the deal ecosystem gathers: sponsors, lenders, investment bankers, and advisors. Its flagship West Coast event, M&A West, is one of the larger annual dealmaker gatherings in the region, and local chapter meet-ups run through the year.
Best for: middle-market sponsors and the bankers, lenders, and advisors around them who want deal flow, deal intelligence, and a broad regional network.
3. Markets Group Private Equity San Francisco Forum
The Markets Group Private Equity San Francisco Forum is the Bay Area's main institutional private-capital gathering, connecting general partners, limited partners, and allocators. It is a recurring annual event — the ninth edition is scheduled for November 2026 at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco — rather than a standing community, but for institutional private equity it is a fixture on the calendar.
The agenda leans into the questions West Coast private equity is actually working through: tech-sector valuations, secondary-market liquidity, late-stage financing, and how AI and fintech are reshaping the deal landscape. Attendance is complimentary for qualified LPs and GPs, which keeps the room weighted toward principals rather than service providers.
Best for: GPs raising capital and LPs and allocators sourcing managers who want concentrated institutional access once a year.
4. TIGER 21 San Francisco
TIGER 21 is a peer-membership network for ultra-high-net-worth investors and entrepreneurs, and it runs multiple groups in San Francisco. It is not private-equity-specific, but many members are current or former investors, fund principals, and founders who have exited — so private equity, allocation, and business transitions are constant themes.
The format is disciplined: small groups of up to fifteen members meet monthly and act as a confidential board of advisors to one another. Membership requires a qualifying net worth of at least $20 million, and admission is selective beyond the financial threshold.
Best for: private equity principals and exited founders who want a confidential peer group focused on personal wealth, allocation, and life beyond the fund.
5. WAVE — Women's Association of Venture and Equity
WAVE, the Women's Association of Venture and Equity, is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing women across the investment industry, with an active Bay Area presence among its regional chapters. It is industry-agnostic across venture capital and private equity, and its network spans more than 25,000 women — general partners, limited partners, portfolio-company leaders, and the service professionals around them.
For women in private equity, WAVE offers something the broader forums often do not: a purpose-built network for career development, mentorship, and connection at every stage, from early career to the C-suite.
Best for: women in private equity and venture who want a supportive, career-long network across the Bay Area and nationally.
How to Choose
Start with your goal, not the guest list. If you want candid peer conversation and the kind of relationships that hold up when a deal gets hard, choose a small, curated community like the Private Equity Executive Forum or an ACG chapter. If you are raising a fund or sourcing managers, an institutional event like the Markets Group forum puts the right people in one room once a year. If you want peers for your personal wealth and allocation decisions, TIGER 21 fits. And if you are a woman building a long career in the industry, WAVE is built for exactly that.
The pattern across the strongest options is consistent: the value comes from the room, not the content. Reach is easy to find in Silicon Valley. Trust is not, and trust is what compounds — which is the entire reason the Private Equity Executive Forum exists.
If you are a private equity leader and want a seat at the next Bay Area gathering, openfutureforum.com is the place to start.