DiligenceSquared uses AI, voice agents to make M&A research affordable

A typical M&A process is time-consuming and expensive, even for the largest, well-staffed private equity firms. In addition to spending countless hours meeting with senior executives of potential targets and modeling financial results, these groups spend millions of dollars on outside advisors: accountants, lawyers and management consultants.

Because external consultant fees are not reimbursed if a deal falls through, PE firms wait until they are confident of their interest before engaging costly specialists such as consultants from McKinsey, BCG or Bain to conduct extensive commercial research on the market and target company.

DiligenceSquared, a startup that was part of YC’s Fall 2025 cohort, says that using AI it can deliver top-quality, consultancy-level commercial research at a fraction of traditional costs.

The startup’s co-founders, Frederik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, have deep expertise in private equity due diligence. Hansen was previously a director at Blackstone, where he commissioned these multi-billion dollar buyout reports. Meanwhile, Biltoft spent seven years in BCG’s private equity practice leading these types of diligence efforts.

Since launching in October, Hansen and Biltoft’s experience in the sector has helped DiligenceSquared complete multiple projects for some of the world’s largest PE firms and mid-market funds, Hansen tells TechCrunch.

That early traction convinced Damir Becirovic, a former Index Ventures partner, to lead DiligenceSquared’s $5 million seed round from his new VC firm. Merciless.

Instead of relying on expensive management consultants, the startup uses AI voice agents to conduct interviews with customers of the companies the PE firms are considering buying.

DiligenceSquared applies the same AI interview model seen in consumer research startups like Keplar, Outset and Listen Labswhich raised $69 million in January at a valuation of $500 million. But Hansen and Biltoft argue that their due diligence process and final results are fundamentally different from the consumer research produced by these startups.

PE firms can pay McKinsey, Bain or BCG $500,000 to $1 million to interview dozens of corporate clients, including C-suite executives, and produce 200-page reports that combine these insights with proprietary market data, Hansen said. To ensure the quality of the analysis, DiligenceSquared involves senior human consultants who verify the accuracy and commercial insights of the final output.

Because AI does much of the legwork, the startup claims it can provide the analysis for as little as $50,000.

“We’re taking these great insights that were previously reserved for the very big decisions, and now we’re making them more accessible,” Hansen said. Because of the lower price, PE firms are now much more willing to engage DiligenceSquared earlier in the process, long before they are convinced of a deal.

DiligenceSquared isn’t the only company trying to disrupt the diligence market. Its main competitor, Bridgetown Research, raised a $19 million Series A in February 2026, co-led by Accel and Lightspeed.

In addition to Hansen and Biltoft, DiligenceSquared was co-founded by Harshil Rastogi, a former Google engineer.