DiligenceSquared Inc.

What do they actually do

DiligenceSquared is a web/service platform that uses AI agents to run parts of market due diligence and produce source‑linked, audit‑traceable reports. The system conducts or aggregates expert interviews and research, then synthesizes findings with links back to underlying sources, positioned as an alternative to consultant slide decks YC launch, company site, services.

A typical workflow is: a team submits a deal or research question; the platform dispatches AI agents to do expert outreach/interviews and gather materials; and the output is a structured, source‑traceable report used for investment memos, underwriting, portfolio playbooks, or go/no‑go decisions YC launch, company site, services.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Private equity deal teams (associates, VPs, partners): Need defensible, source‑linked market diligence for LOIs and IC, but consultant engagements are slow, expensive, and hard to validate against underlying sources services, YC launch.
• Growth equity / late‑stage investment teams: Need fast, up‑to‑date expert insight on evolving sectors, but struggle to recruit vetted experts and get auditable synthesis on tight timelines company site.
• Private credit underwriters: Require third‑party market and borrower analysis that withstands credit committees and compliance, yet current workflows are manual, inconsistent, and rely on costly external reports company site, YC launch.
• Hedge fund research teams (event/sector analysts): Need rapid, repeatable, source‑traceable research for trade ideas and short checks, but evidence is scattered across notes and not auditable when challenged company site.
• Portfolio company strategy / operating teams: Need clear, actionable market playbooks or M&A diligence without hiring expensive consultants, but lack fast access to vetted experts and structured, auditable reports company site.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run founder‑led, warm‑intro pilots via the YC network and prior PE/consulting relationships, scoped to replace an imminent consultant engagement and deliver an audit‑traceable report plus a case study company site, YC launch.
• First 50: Convert pilot users to paying accounts using early case studies and referrals; hire 1–2 sector AEs for focused outbound to associates/VPs and standardize a repeatable pilot/onboarding package company site.
• First 100: Blend founder/AE sales for larger funds with a lower‑touch option for smaller teams; add partnerships with boutiques/data vendors; invest in enterprise controls (audit logs, security/compliance, SLAs) and a CS playbook to keep churn low.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The core, directly addressable market is Transaction Advisory/Commercial Due Diligence at roughly $25B globally in 2024—this is where paid CDD happens today and maps to the product’s replacement focus market estimate. Broader management‑consulting/financial‑advisory markets are in the low‑hundreds of billions, which represents longer‑term expansion Mordor, Source Global Research.

Bottom-up calculation:

In 2024 there were about 12,672 PE/VC deals; if 30% buy external CDD at an average of $500k (a commonly quoted full‑engagement price point), that implies roughly $1.9B of spend within this slice alone S&P Global, YC launch pricing claim. This is illustrative; the $25B TAS market also includes larger M&A and other transaction services beyond PE/VC.

Assumptions:

• Share of PE/VC deals commissioning external commercial CDD (e.g., 30%).
• Average external CDD ticket size per engagement (e.g., ~$500k, with wide variance by deal/sector).
• PE/VC represents only part of total TAS; larger corporate M&A and other transactions drive additional CDD spend captured in the $25B figure.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• GLG: Large expert‑network offering expert calls, surveys, and managed research for investment and strategy teams; overlaps on expert insight but is a human‑network service rather than an autonomous AI interview/synthesis platform GLG.
• Third Bridge: Expert‑insight provider with a large library of interview transcripts plus custom sourcing and surveys; competes on speed/access to vetted experts and content, not end‑to‑end AI‑run interviews with audit‑traced synthesis Third Bridge.
• AlphaSense: AI‑first market‑intelligence/search platform indexing premium documents and transcripts with generative tools; overlaps on AI synthesis and source‑linking but is primarily content/search + GenAI workflow rather than running expert outreach for clients AlphaSense.
• Sentieo (AlphaSense): Investor research workspace combining document search, financial data, modeling, and research management; overlaps on auditable research workflows but not automated expert interviewing/agentic report generation Sentieo, AlphaSense–Sentieo.
• PitchBook: Private‑markets data and research platform used for due‑diligence validation and deal intelligence; supplies structured data rather than running primary expert interviews or generating AI‑authored, audit‑traced syntheses PitchBook.