Effective use of data and AI can be a major differentiator for a potential investment target, but separating the wheat from the chaff can be challenging, especially in today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape. Which capabilities that seem leading-edge today will be commoditised in a year or two’s time? Are apparently leading-edge AI capabilities truly the result of innovation, or creative packaging and integration of off-the shelf capabilities?

Our data and AI due diligence services helps potential Private Equity and corporate investors and their target companies build a clearer understanding how whether and how they are taking advantage of data and AI in their operations and products, and whether these capabilities will scale and support value creation. AI capability is assessed not only at model level, but across the full data value chain: data acquisition, transformation, model deployment, commercial integration, governance, and value realisation.

While each project is different, we will typically look at the following areas:

1. Substance – Is the AI real, differentiated, and technically sound?

2. Value – Does it materially impact revenue, margin, or risk?

3. Defensibility – Is there a durable moat?

4. Scalability – Can it scale without excessive costs or governance failure?

We use this framework to come up with recommendations and areas of concern that investors can use to understand upside opportunity and risk, and targets can use to identify investment areas to increase their attractiveness to potential investors.