When our CEO, Alex Robinson, made his first private market investment, he anticipated the kind of seamless digital process he was used to with the public markets. Instead, he found himself confronted with a two-inch pile of paperwork delivered by FedEx.
On a recent episode of the Venture Unlocked podcast, he unpacks how this moment launched Juniper Square's decade-plus journey to modernize the private markets. Rather than build a generic marketplace or focus on LPs, Robinson and his co-founders intentionally positioned Juniper Square as a partner to GPs. The product philosophy was simple–the private markets are fragmented and highly heterogeneous, unlike the public markets, where standardization is enforced by regulation. Instead of lobbying for unattainable industrywide standards, Juniper Square followed the TurboTax playbook—building technology that could support thousands of unique fund configurations.
Today, Juniper Square supports nearly 2,500 GPs across all asset classes and services nearly 700,000 unique LPs.
The wealth channel reality
During the interview, Robinson discusses the growing focus on the wealth channel. Industry giants like Blackstone and Apollo have invested heavily to pursue this strategy, staffing hundreds of people and reportedly allocating over a billion dollars to expansion efforts. He also calls out the outsized impact of only those firms. “Those six or seven are literally raising 95% of all of the capital through that channel….We have customers that are unbelievable brand names within their sector, great returns, but they just don't have the brand that a Blackstone would have.”
He predicts that innovation in product structure, especially bundled or registered multi-manager funds with liquidity, will be key to democratizing access for smaller managers and investors.
AI: The next evolution
Looking ahead, Robinson is clear about the impact of AI: “Artificial intelligence is coming for everyone. Every area of knowledge work, full stop. And everything a GP does is knowledge work.” He argues that the biggest near-term impact will be in fund operations—reporting, compliance, treasury, data collection, and investor relations—areas where AI can dramatically streamline workflows and decision-making.
He distinguishes between work easily impacted by AI (desktop-based investing, data analysis) and work still rooted in relationships, local insight, and hands-on expertise, but argues that AI will still influence GP-LP interactions thanks to automated, always-available AI agents acting as experts on a GP's track record, philosophy, investments, and team. “The LP can ask a million questions at two o'clock in the morning if they want,” he says, emphasizing that this technology will free teams to focus on deeper relationship-building and trust.
For all its promise, Robinson doesn't shy away from discussing AI's disruptive effects. He points out the inevitability of job loss for roles built on rote or pattern-matching work but expects that, echoing Jevons Paradox, new opportunities and tasks will emerge—even if the pace of reskilling and adaptation poses real challenges.
The vision
After a recent funding round pushed Juniper Square's value north of the $1 billion mark, Robinson is doubling down on our core mission: using technology to radically accelerate fund administration and operations. The industry's size and pace of change present enormous opportunities for those who adapt first.
“We believe very deeply that if you apply technology in the right way, you can have this win-win scenario…You could be the very best place to work for people that do that work…and provide the best product to the customer.”
Key takeaways for fund managers
For today’s fund managers, Robinson’s message is direct:
Proactively embrace technology. Leaders need to leverage new tools for efficiency rather than wait for disruption.
Maintain a focus on relationships. As AI absorbs routine tasks, trust and strategic vision become even more essential.
Optimize for scalability and efficiency. Technology enables firms to grow without linearly scaling back-office costs.
As the stack of paperwork arriving via a FedEx truck fades into history, the challenge for every participant in the private markets is no longer whether to modernize, but how boldly and how fast. The future belongs to those who seize that opportunity.