Via apollo.com
The private equity giant is betting big on AI infrastructure financing, with ambitions stretching well past 2028
Apollo Global Management has a new person steering its artificial intelligence strategy. The firm appointed Katia Walsh, Ph.D., as Managing Director to lead AI initiatives across its portfolio companies.
Before joining Apollo, Walsh served as the inaugural Chief Digital Officer at Harvard Business School, a role she stepped into in April 2023. Prior to that, she held the title of Chief Global Strategy and AI Officer at Levi Strauss and Co., and before that she built AI programs at Vodafone Group.
Apollo’s interest in AI as an operating theme predates this hire. The firm brought on Vikram Mahidhar as an operating partner in mid-2021, making him one of the earlier AI-focused hires at a major private equity firm. Walsh’s appointment as Managing Director suggests Apollo is now building out a full function rather than relying on a single point of contact.
The bigger play: financing AI infrastructure at scale #
Apollo President Jim Zelter said in May 2026 that funding for AI capital expenditures will remain healthy through at least 2028, a statement that positions the firm not just as an equity investor in AI companies but as a debt provider to the infrastructure buildout underneath them.
Apollo published research in February 2026 laying out its thesis on how AI is reshaping both software and private credit markets. Walsh’s mandate will presumably include translating that macro thesis into deal-level execution across portfolio companies.
What investors should watch #
The debt financing angle is equally important. If Zelter’s read is correct and AI capex funding stays robust through 2028, Apollo’s private credit business stands to generate meaningful fee income from structuring those deals. That is a different revenue stream from carried interest on equity, and it diversifies the firm’s exposure to the AI theme without requiring it to pick winning AI companies outright.
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