04.16.25 By Shiva Mathur
Today’s tech leaders are navigating a delicate balance. Product lifecycles are shrinking, customer expectations are rising, and innovation is no longer a differentiator — it’s the baseline for survival. At the same time, they are expected to reduce costs, respond faster to market shifts, and build differentiated capabilities — all while staying operationally lean. The pressure is even greater for companies backed by private equity — or aiming to attract it.
67% of PE operating partners now say digital and tech enablement is central to their value creation strategy, putting a premium on execution speed and operational maturity.
– Bain & Company
The upside is clear—according to McKinsey, companies that accelerate their tech capability maturity see EBITDA grow 25–30% faster over a typical 3-year hold.
For tech leaders, that means strategic investment in the right capabilities can directly improve valuation and long-term competitiveness.
So, the question many high-tech executives are asking is:
How do we build AI, data, and product capabilities fast — and still demonstrate control, scalability, and readiness for serious investment?
For a growing number of high-tech companies, the answer is the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model — a proven strategy that combines the speed of outsourcing with the long-term value of ownership. In a BOT model, a partner helps build a new team or function (like AI, product engineering, or support ops), operates it until it stabilizes, and then transfers it fully to the company. You move fast without losing control — and end up owning a mature, strategic capability.
This blog explores why BOT is gaining traction among high-growth tech firms, how to implement it effectively, and the business value it can unlock — from faster delivery and capability building to long-term investor confidence.
Growth-stage tech companies often face a capability crunch – a race to develop new competencies (like AI, advanced product features, or predictive analytics) before their competitors outpace them. The stakes are high. Moving too slowly risks losing market share; moving too fast without a solid foundation risks costly mistakes and investor skepticism. Private equity owners and boards are scrutinizing every decision. They expect breakneck innovation and operational maturity simultaneously.
The dilemma – You could hire a full AI or product development team in-house, which might take months (or longer) that you don’t have. Alternatively, you could choose to outsource development to a third party for faster results, but this approach comes with potential risks, such as losing control over the process or lacking essential skills and expertise.
Companies using BOT for AI/ML report a 2x faster model deployment rate compared to fully internal setups.
– IDC
The reality is that speed doesn’t have to come at the cost of long-term control. High-tech firms can get the best of both worlds – rapid execution with eventual ownership.
For a growing number of tech leaders, the answer is Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) – essentially a “fast-track with guardrails” for capability building. In simple terms, BOT is a model where you partner with an expert provider to build a new functionality, capability, or team, have that partner operate it for a period to reach a steady-state, and then transfer the fully functioning operation back to you. Think of it as “rent-to-own” for critical tech capabilities. You get the immediate speed and expertise of an outside specialist, but ultimately, you take the wheel and own the asset.
BOT is powerful because it’s not just outsourcing and not just in-house development – it’s a clever blend of both. You accelerate execution by leveraging the partner’s ready-made capabilities, yet you maintain a path to full control. Strategically, it means faster time-to-market without giving up ownership of IP or process. And when done right, it leaves you with a self-sufficient capability that can continue to grow long after the transfer.
Like any strategy, BOT succeeds only with proper execution. Here’s a quick playbook for making BOT a win-win:
Now, let’s look at why high-tech companies should pursue BOT mode in the first place.
When executed well, Build-Operate-Transfer can be a game-changer for high-tech firms — not only accelerating growth but also strengthening valuation. According to a Bain Global PE Report, PE firms that showcase proprietary tech capability at exit command 1.5–2.2x higher valuation premiums, and PwC states that 72% of tech M&A buyers prefer targets with internally owned delivery over outsourced operations.
Here are the key benefits and strategic value propositions of the BOT approach:
BOT helps you launch faster by leveraging a partner’s existing talent and tools — cutting build time and giving you a head start in fast-moving areas like AI and cloud.
BOT ensures you own the capability, not just the output — giving you outside support now without losing control of your product roadmap or IP down the line.
BOT offers a cost-effective way to scale, letting you invest in a proven, operationally ready capability — not a risky, trial-and-error build.
With BOT, you don’t just gain people or tools — you inherit a fully built, high-performing function that strengthens your team’s skills, processes, and overall maturity.
BOT shows investors you’re scaling with discipline — owning critical capabilities, reducing risk, and strengthening valuation through operational maturity.
In sum, BOT lets you sprint now without stumbling later. These benefits aren’t just theoretical – they’re being realized by companies through real-world use cases, especially in areas like AI, product development, support, and data analytics.
Let’s explore a few compelling use cases where BOT is driving results for PE-backed and growth-stage tech companies:
A growth-stage SaaS company needed to embed AI-driven recommendations fast, but building an AI team from scratch would’ve taken over a year. Through a BOT partnership, they put together a skilled AI team in weeks, launched the feature in months, and transferred the entire unit in-house within a year. The result: a fully owned AI capability, built at speed — and ready just in time for investor scrutiny.
A PE-backed software firm needed to quickly build a new product module to drive upsell revenue, but its engineering team was stretched thin. Through a BOT partnership, a dedicated product pod launched the module in six months, far faster than the company could have done alone. With knowledge transfer built in, internal engineers were upskilled and took over seamlessly, delivering both a new revenue stream and a stronger, more capable team.
A B2B tech company expanding globally needed 24/7 multilingual support but lacked the time and resources to build it internally. Through a BOT partnership, they set up a cost-efficient support center that handled global queries across channels. Over 18 months, the partner recruited and trained staff, built workflows, and consistently met SLAs. The operation was then transferred in-house as a fully staffed subsidiary, giving the company a world-class support function, lower costs, and stronger investor confidence.
A healthcare tech startup, under investor pressure to become more data-driven, used BOT to fast-track its analytics function. The partner set up a cloud data platform, hired analysts, and delivered insights within months. By transfer, the startup had a fully functional in-house analytics team — trained, equipped, and delivering real-time insights. In under a year, they went from flying blind to impressing investors with data-backed decision-making.
Whether it’s launching an AI feature, expanding a product line, scaling customer support, or setting up a data analytics practice, the BOT model gives high-tech companies a way to execute with startup agility but land in a position of strength and ownership. For PE-backed companies, this directly translates to higher valuations and smoother growth trajectories.
The Build-Operate-Transfer model has emerged as a strategic catalyst, redefining the old build-vs-buy dilemma. By blending internal development with external expertise, BOT fast-tracks capability building and instills operational maturity much faster than traditional methods. The payoff is tangible: by scaling rapidly yet sustainably and meeting private equity’s aggressive timelines, the business signals to investors that it is truly investor-ready. BOT is not a shortcut; it is a disciplined framework for private equity value creation and scalable growth that conventional approaches simply cannot match.
Connect with us to discover how the Build-Operate-Transfer approach, combined with our expertise in digital transformation and realization, can propel your company into its next stage of success. Let’s build fast, operate smart, and transfer a stronger business to you.
References
www.bain.com/insights/private-equity-midyear-report-2024/
www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/global-private-markets-report-2024
www.everestgrp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Digital-Workplace-Alamanac-Key-Insights-and-Trends-from-2025.pdf
kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/ai-and-technology/kpmg-global-tech-report-2023.html
www.gartner.com/en/topics/generative-ai
www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prAP53207125
www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consulting/articles/bot-models.html
devico.io/blog/bot-vs-traditional-outsourcing-exploring-your-options-for-it-project-management
www.bain.com/insights/topics/global-private-equity-report/
www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/deals/library/ma-integration-survey.html
