A typical M&A process is time-consuming and expensive, even for the largest, well-staffed private equity firms. In addition to countless hours meeting with senior executives of potential targets and modeling financial results, these groups spend millions of dollars on outside consultants: accountants, lawyers and management consultants.
Since fees for outside consultants are non-refundable in case of failure, PE firms wait until they are convinced of their interest before hiring expensive experts such as consultants from McKinsey, BCG or Bain to conduct extensive commercial research on the market and the target company.
DiligenceSquared, a startup that was part of YC’s Fall 2025 cohort, says that with the help of artificial intelligence, it can provide high-quality commercial research consulting at a fraction of the traditional cost.
The startup’s co-founders, Frederik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, have deep expertise in private equity due diligence. Hansen was previously a principal at Blackstone, where he commissioned these reports on multi-billion dollar acquisitions. Biltoft, meanwhile, spent seven years at BCG’s private equity firm, leading these types of due diligence efforts.
Since launching in October, Hansen and Biltoft’s industry experience has helped DiligenceSquared complete multiple projects for several 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 round from his new VC firm, Relentless.
Instead of relying on expensive management consultants, the startup uses AI voice agents to conduct interviews with clients of the companies PE firms are considering buying.
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DiligenceSquared applies the same AI interview model seen at consumer research startups like Keplar, Outset and Listen to Workshopswhich in January raised $69 million at a $500 million valuation. But Hansen and Biltoft argue that the due diligence process and the end results differ fundamentally from the consumer research produced by these startups.
PE firms can pay $500,000 to $1 million for McKinsey, Bain or BCG to interview dozens of corporate clients, including C-suite executives, and produce 200-page reports that synthesize that knowledge with proprietary market data, Hansen said. To ensure the quality of the analysis, DiligenceSquared includes senior human advisors who verify the accuracy and commercial knowledge of the end result.
Since AI does a lot of the groundwork, the startup claims it can provide the analysis for as little as $50,000.
“We’re taking these great ideas that were previously reserved for very big decisions and now making them more accessible,” Hansen said. Because of the lower price, polyethylene companies are now much more willing to engage DiligenceSquared earlier in the process, long before they have much confidence in 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 round 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.
