Know what you're buying, before you sign.
Pre-deal technical due diligence for US private equity and investors, and post-acquisition turnaround after. A clear-eyed read on code, architecture, team and risk, then a credible plan to make the asset AI-native and worth more.
What is technical due diligence?
Technical due diligence is the pre-deal assessment of a software company's code, architecture, engineering team, security and true cost of ownership, done so the buyer knows exactly what they're acquiring before the money moves. The same work goes by several names: technology due diligence, software due diligence, tech DD. Whatever you call it, the output should be a decision-ready report written for the partners making the call, not a stack of engineering notes.
My reads start at $15,000 per deal, scoped up with the size and complexity of the target, and most run two to three weeks from data-room access to report. Full numbers are in the technical due diligence pricing guide.
The read is an operator's, because I've been on the build side of everything I assess. I've taken platforms through SOC 2 Type I & II and HIPAA-grade compliance myself, so when I flag a gap, I can also tell you what closing it takes.
Also known as: technology due diligence, software due diligence, tech DD, IT due diligence, technical audit for acquisition.
The deck never shows the technical debt.
By the time it surfaces, you've already wired the money.
Is the architecture real?
Does it scale, or is it held together with heroics? I tell you what's solid and what's a liability before you commit.
Can the team deliver?
Key-person risk, capability gaps, culture problems. The people are the asset, or the risk, and I read both.
What will it really cost?
The cleanup, the re-platform, the hires. I give you the true cost of ownership, not the optimistic one.
Where's the upside?
An AI-native operating model is often the fastest path to margin. I show where the value-creation actually is.
A decision-ready read.
Technical Due Diligence
A clear, honest assessment delivered in time for your decision, written for partners, not just engineers.
- →Code quality, architecture and scalability
- →Security, compliance and data risk (SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR)
- →Team, key-person risk and delivery capability
- →True cost of ownership and a remediation roadmap
Turnaround & Value Creation
After the deal, I go in and execute, stabilizing the asset and transforming it into something worth more.
- →Stabilize delivery and stop the bleeding
- →Rebuild the team and the engineering approach
- →Redesign the operating model to be AI-native
- →Tie technology investment to margin and exit value
Diligence tells you what you're buying. The turnaround is where the return actually comes from, and in most portfolio companies today, that means making them AI-native.
What deal teams ask.
What does technical due diligence cover?
Code quality and architecture, scalability, security and compliance exposure, the engineering team and key-person risk, and the true cost of ownership, delivered as a decision-ready report written for partners, not just engineers, with a clear remediation roadmap.
Do you also do the post-acquisition work?
Yes. Pre-deal diligence and post-close turnaround are a continuum. After the deal I go in hands-on to stabilize the asset, rebuild the team, and transform the operating model to be AI-native, which is usually where the return comes from.
How fast can you turn around a diligence report?
Most reads run two to three weeks from data-room access to the report, and I work to the deal timeline. When a process is moving fast, a compressed read is possible; the scope narrows to the questions that can kill or reprice the deal.
Who is the buyer for this?
Private-equity firms and investors evaluating a software asset, and operating partners responsible for value creation across a portfolio.
Related reading & paths.
Evaluating a deal or
a portfolio company?
Bring me in before you sign, or after, to make the asset worth more.