It's become one of the most popular private investing strategies of the last year: Firms including General Catalyst, Thrive Capital and 8VC have been investing in startups that buy services businesses such as call center operators, merge them with similar companies, and use artificial intelligence to boost sales and keep costs low.

In the latest example, Chris Young, who led Microsoft's ventures and acquisitions team for five years, has told former colleagues he's planning a private equity fund focused on buying companies, combining them and using AI to make their operations more efficient, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.