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

A typical merger-and-acquisition 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 outcomes, these groups spend millions of dollars on external advisers: accountants, lawyers, and management consultants. Since expenses for external advisers are not reimbursed if a deal falls through, PE firms wait until they are certain of their interest before engaging costly specialists such as consultants from McKinsey, BCG, or Bain to perform 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 AI, it can provide top-tier consultancy-quality commercial research at a fraction of the traditional cost. The startup’s co-founders, Frederik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, possess deep expertise in private equity due diligence. Hansen was formerly a principal at Blackstone, where he commissioned these reports for multiple billion-dollar buyouts. Meanwhile, Biltoft spent seven years in BCG’s private equity practice leading these types of diligence efforts. Since launching in October, Hansen’s 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 seed round out of his new VC firm, Relentless . 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. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders ...