Bravo Doubles Down on Domain Leaders as Software Pivots to Agentic Era

Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, sat down with CNBC’s Leslie Picker at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York on May 12, 2026. The session, titled “What’s Next for Software,” ran 40 minutes and covered Thoma Bravo’s strategy in an era defined by artificial intelligence and shifting capital dynamics. Bravo manages roughly $140 billion in committed capital across 77 portfolio companies, making Thoma Bravo one of the world’s largest software-focused private equity firms.

The conversation centered on a single question: how does the AI wave reshape value in enterprise software? Bravo’s answer diverged from the consensus. Moats don’t matter. Leadership does. The firm is doubling down on domain expertise,companies that have spent 20 to 30 years automating a specific industry process,and backing founders or long-tenured executives who can navigate the platform shift to agentic software. He flagged a handful of portfolio companies already delivering agentic solutions, framed private credit markets as 250 basis points wider with leverage dropping from 7x to 5x, and acknowledged a $5 billion equity wipeout at Medallia as a mistake rooted in management changes that gutted domain knowledge.

The pitch was philosophical, not stock-specific. But the stakes are existential. Software faces open questions on pricing power, commoditization risk from open-source models, and whether incumbents can out-innovate startups. Bravo argued that both sides will win, and he’s betting on the companies that know their customers best.