What happens to investments past a fund's life cycle?

Confused about what happens if a PE fund, specifically VC and growth, cannot exit an investment once their fund life is up... My understanding is that the typical fund life is 7 years where firms invest in the companies in the first 1-2 years and wait for their investments to vest for the remainder. However, given that companies are staying private longer these days, to the point of 10-12 years, what happens if the company doesn't exit once the fund begins to wind down?

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