Answer. Across the portfolios of 237 investors, 86 percent name at least one place AI makes a measurable difference: better products at 51 percent, cutting costs 35, helping customers 34. 16 percent see nothing measurable yet. 22 percent cannot name who owns the AI buying decision in their portfolio companies. The AI Investor Conviction Index, the share naming at least one measurable effect, is 86 percent.
Source. Investor AI Report and VC & CVC AI Investment Report, September 2026 note. Open Future Forum, Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index. Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21576019. Bases are unique people per instrument; bases under 40 are directional.
External comparator. PwC 29th CEO Survey: 12 percent of CEOs report both cost and revenue benefit from AI; 56 percent report neither. External figures are context only; the source is not affiliated with this page and does not endorse it.
Questions to ask.
- Ask each company for one named AI metric
- Separate product impact from cost impact in the plan
- Name the AI owner in every company before the tool
- Report the share of the portfolio with a measured effect
Last refreshed September 2026. First-party data for this seat is collected from October 2026; until then this page interprets the September editions and contains no new survey data. Part of The Sept Reports for dealmakers.
About Open Future Forum
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including 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. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network.
Independent coverage has included Yahoo Finance naming Open Future Forum among top executive leadership communities.
About Murray Newlands
Murray Newlands is the founder of Open Future Forum and the host of its executive dinner series and research program. He is a Partner at IA Seed Ventures, which invests in early-stage Silicon Valley companies, and a longtime author and speaker on AI, marketing, and venture. He writes on AI, venture, and enterprise strategy at murraynewlands.substack.com. More at openfutureforum.com/about and murraynewlands.com.
Work These Questions with Dealmaking Peers
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