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

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

Since the expenses of outside consultants are not reimbursed if the deal fails, private equity firms wait until they are sure of their interest before hiring expensive specialists such as consultants from McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, or Bain to conduct extensive business research on the target market and company.

DiligenceSquared, a startup that was part of YC’s Fall 2025 cohort, says that with the help of AI, it can deliver high-quality advisory business research at a fraction of the traditional cost.

The startup’s co-founders, Fredrik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, have deep experience in private equity due diligence. Hansen was previously a senior director at Blackstone, where he was tasked with preparing these reports for multiple multi-billion dollar acquisitions. Meanwhile, Biltoft spent seven years in Boston Consulting Group’s private equity practice leading these types of diligence efforts.

Since launching in October, Hansen and Biltoft’s industry expertise has helped DiligenceSquared complete multiple projects for many of the world’s largest private equity firms and middle market funds, Hansen told TechCrunch.

This early traction convinced Damir Besirovic, a former partner at Index Ventures, to lead DiligenceSquared’s $5 million seed round from his new venture capital firm, Relentless.

Instead of relying on expensive management consultants, the startup uses artificial intelligence-based voice agents to interview clients of companies that private equity firms are considering buying.

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

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

Since AI does a lot of the groundwork, the startup claims it can provide the analysis for just $50,000.

“We’re taking these great ideas that were previously reserved for very big decisions, and now we’re making them more accessible,” Hansen said. Because of the lower price point, private equity firms are now more willing to engage DiligenceSquared early in the process, before they have high conviction in the deal.

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

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