DiligenceSquared is all set to disrupt the M&A research space. That’s the transformation co-founders Frederik Hansen, Søren Biltoft, and Harshil Rastogi want to make happen with the help of artificial intelligence. The commercial aerospace upstart, which opened for business back in October, wants to deliver more sophisticated commercial research at a fraction of the price of existing vendors. This novel strategy leverages an AI-interview model. It’s very similar to the approach used by research-focused consumer firms like Keplar, Outset, and ListenLabs.
With decades of private equity due diligence experience, Hansen and Biltoft are well positioned to deliver high value services. Hansen was a former Blackstone principal, responsible for writing the reports that justified billion-dollar buyouts. Biltoft spent nearly a decade at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). There, he led pro bono initiatives as part of the firm’s private equity practice. They dream of a future where Fortune 500-style consultancy expertise is accessible to a much wider range of clients. Private equity firms especially save huge war chests for traditional, expensive consulting research, so this access is all the more valuable.
Private equity firms often spend between $500,000 and $1 million on extensive interviews and detailed reports from renowned consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, or BCG. DiligenceSquared offers a compelling alternative, having completed various projects for some of the largest private equity firms and mid-market funds since its inception.
“We are taking these great insights that were previously reserved for the very big decisions, and now we make them more accessible,” Hansen stated.
DiligenceSquared’s funding trajectory is an indication of the increasing investor confidence in its business model. The startup successfully raised a $5 million seed round led by Damir Becirovic, a former partner at Index Ventures and current leader of the VC firm Relentless. This financial support will allow DiligenceSquared to increase its team, build on its AI-powered methodologies, and focus on smart-city projects globally.
The business has made it into Y Combinator’s fall 2025 cohort. This unique reality forced it to sharpen its product and break through with a clear message in a noisy and crowded market. Compared to large multinationals, DiligenceSquared provides a thorough boutique service at a more accessible price point. This has led private equity firms to engage with the startup earlier in their due diligence processes.
DiligenceSquared is carving out an important niche in the M&A research landscape. It’s not without competition from Bridgetown Research, which just raised $19 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Accel and Lightspeed in Feb 2026. As DiligenceSquared claims, the processes that create this output and the completed outputs themselves are fundamentally different than what’s produced by consumer research startups.