DiligenceSquared Leverages AI and Voice Agents to Cut M&A Research Costs

The typical M&A process is lengthy and costly, even for large, well-resourced private equity firms. Beyond the countless hours spent meeting with senior executives from potential targets and building financial models, these firms invest millions in external advisors—accountants, lawyers, and management consultants.

Expenses for external advisors are not recoverable if a transaction fails, so PE firms typically delay engaging high-cost specialists like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain consultants for in-depth commercial research until they are confident in their interest.

DiligenceSquared, a startup from Y Combinator's fall 2025 batch, claims AI enables it to deliver commercial research at consultancy-grade quality for a fraction of the traditional cost.

The startup's co-founders, Frederik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, bring deep private equity due diligence experience. Hansen was previously a principal at Blackstone, where he commissioned such reports for multi-billion-dollar buyouts. Biltoft spent seven years in BCG's private equity practice leading similar diligence projects.

Since its October launch, Hansen tells TechCrunch that their industry expertise has allowed DiligenceSquared to complete multiple projects for several of the world's largest PE firms and mid-market funds.

This early traction prompted Damir Becirovic, a former Index Ventures partner, to lead the startup's $5 million seed round from his new venture firm, Relentless.

Rather than depend on costly management consultants, the startup employs AI voice agents to interview customers of the companies PE firms are evaluating for acquisition.

DiligenceSquared is adapting the AI-interview model used by consumer research startups like Keplar, Outset, and ListenLabs—the latter of which raised $69 million at a $500 million valuation in January. However, Hansen and Biltoft contend their due diligence process and final outputs are fundamentally distinct from the consumer research these companies produce.

Hansen notes that PE firms might pay $500,000 to $1 million for McKinsey, Bain, or BCG to interview dozens of corporate customers, including C-suite executives, and produce 200-page reports combining those insights with proprietary market data. To ensure analytical quality, DiligenceSquared employs senior human consultants who verify the accuracy and commercial insight of the final report.

By leveraging AI for much of the foundational work, the startup says it can deliver the analysis for approximately $50,000.

"We are taking these high-quality insights, once reserved for only the largest deals, and making them far more accessible," Hansen said. The lower cost makes PE firms much more willing to engage DiligenceSquared earlier in the process, long before they have high conviction on a specific deal.

DiligenceSquared isn't the only firm aiming to transform the due diligence market. Its primary competitor, Bridgetown Research, closed a $19 million Series A round 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.