Strategic Acquisitions
Buy the capability instead of waiting to build it — with eyes open.
Target screening, AI due diligence, valuation framing and integration planning for founders and acquirers growing through M&A.
In a turning, the fastest way to acquire a capability is often to acquire the company that has it. But AI-era M&A is unforgiving: the demo dazzles, the data rights are murky, the model is someone else's API, and the real cost lands during integration — long after the deal closed.
We work alongside founders and corporate acquirers to run a disciplined process: define the acquisition thesis, screen targets against it, and put each serious candidate through diligence built for AI businesses — what's real versus narrated, where the data and IP actually sit, key-person risk, and what it would genuinely cost to integrate.
We are not your lawyers or your accountants, and we'll say so. We work next to them — focused on the technical, strategic and AI-specific questions generic deal teams miss.
Who this is for
- Founders and operators building through acquisition who need an independent read on a target's AI.
- Corporate-development and strategy leaders screening or pursuing AI acquisitions.
- Acquirers who've been burned by a demo that didn't survive contact with production.
What we do
What you get.
Acquisition thesis & screen
A clear statement of what you're buying and why, plus a weighted rubric to score targets and move from a longlist to a defensible shortlist.
AI due diligence
An independent technical and strategic read on the target: model reality, data provenance and rights, infrastructure cost, key-person risk, IP and the red flags that kill deals.
Valuation framing
A view on what the capability is worth to you — the integration-adjusted value, not the headline ask — to ground your negotiation.
Integration plan
A 30/60/90-day plan for retaining the people, integrating the data and models, and protecting the value you paid for.
How it works
The engagement, step by step.
- 01
Discovery call
A 45-minute conversation about your acquisition thesis and the targets or sector in view. We'll tell you candidly whether and where we can add an edge.
- 02
Thesis & screening
We sharpen the thesis, build the scoring rubric, and run candidates through it to a shortlist worth real diligence.
- 03
Diligence deep-dive
We probe the target's AI, data and team, surface the risks, and frame the integration-adjusted value — working alongside your legal and financial advisors.
- 04
Decision & integration support
We help you walk away or proceed with conviction, and stay on through the first 100 days of integration if you want us there.
Outcomes
What changes for you.
- A shortlist of targets scored against an explicit thesis, not gut feel.
- An independent read on each target's AI — what's real, what's risk, what's narrative.
- A valuation and negotiation grounded in the cost of integration, not the seller's story.
- An integration plan ready before the deal closes, not improvised after.
Questions
Asked often, answered honestly.
Do you replace our lawyers and accountants?
No. We handle the technical, strategic and AI-specific diligence and work alongside your legal and tax advisors — we don't provide legal or tax advice. Where a question is theirs, we'll say so and hand it over.
Can you help us source targets, or only assess them?
Both. We can build the acquisition thesis and screening funnel to source and rank candidates, or run diligence on a target you've already identified. Most engagements start with one and grow into the other.
How does pricing work?
Usually a project fee for screening and diligence, with a retainer or success component on full buy-side mandates. We settle exact figures privately once we've confirmed fit and scope on the call.
Every turning rewards the prepared.
Tell us where you are. We will be candid about what comes next — whether or not we end up working together.