For the deal
An IC-ready memo
Exposure, claims, run cost and upside, each with a clear rating and the evidence behind it.
AI due diligence for private equity
Price the AI risk before you sign.
Every software deal now carries an AI question. Will AI make this business stronger, or replace it? Do its AI claims hold up in the code? We answer both in two weeks, in time for your investment committee.
Five questions for the investment committee.
Each answered with evidence from the code, the data room and the target's engineers.
- Exposure
- Where AI can replace the product, the service or the margin.
- Claims
- Whether the AI in the management deck exists in the code and runs in production.
- Run cost
- What the AI features cost at scale, and whether pricing covers it.
- Upside
- What AI can add to EBITDA, and what that's realistically worth.
- 100 days
- What to fund first after close, and what to stop.
Why independent
Our diligence isn't the first step of a build contract.
Many AI diligence providers also sell the build after close, so the upside they find becomes their next project. We don't build. You get a view of the AI case with nothing riding on the answer.
For the price
Red flags to negotiate
Overstated AI, hidden run costs and key-person risk, written so your lawyers and the deal team can use them.
For day one
A 100-day AI plan
The first two or three things to fund, what each should return, and who should lead them.
How it works
Two weeks, inside your deal timeline.
We work from the data room and two sessions with the target's engineers. A shorter red-flag review is possible when the timeline is tight.
From €25,000Fixed fee per target, agreed before we start
Independent by design: we never take the build, and we never take a fee from the target.
How the two weeks run
- Days 1 to 2: Read
- Data room, management deck and every AI claim in it.
- Days 3 to 6: Code and architecture
- Sessions with the target's engineers, a look at the code and the AI running in production.
- Days 7 to 9: Exposure and upside
- Where AI threatens the business, what it can add, and the run-cost model.
- Day 10: Readout
- The memo and a call with the deal team before the investment committee.
After the deal
- AI leadership hire check
- An independent check of the CTO or Head of AI you plan to put in.
- Fractional AI adviser
- Senior oversight of the 100-day plan while the company's team or an implementation partner builds.
Common questions
Before you send us the data room.
- Do you work in the data room under NDA?
- Yes. We sign your NDA and the target's, work from the data room, and ask for two sessions with the target's engineers. Code access can be read-only or a guided walkthrough, whichever the seller allows.
- Can you work alongside our other diligence providers?
- Yes. We cover the AI and the code. Commercial, financial and legal diligence stay with your existing advisers, and we share findings with them where it helps.
- Do you build the AI after the deal?
- No. We help you hire the right leader or choose the right implementation partner, then oversee design and quality while they build. Our diligence never depends on winning the build.
- Which deals fit?
- Mid-market software and tech-enabled services businesses in Europe and the Gulf, where AI either props up the investment case or threatens it.
Got a deal with an AI question?
Tell us about the target and your timeline. In 30 minutes you'll know whether AI diligence is worth adding.
Prefer email? shekhar@asksarthi.ai · LinkedIn