What it means to fully embrace AI for deal work.
AI doesn't replace the commercial judgment that makes CDD credible. It removes the ceiling on what's possible within the deal window.
CDD has always been constrained by time. LOI-to-close windows don't move — but the depth of analysis required to give a sponsor real conviction has only grown. The firms that thrive are the ones that find ways to do more, faster, without sacrificing rigor.
AI doesn't replace human judgment - AI removes the ceiling on what's possible in the time available. Market sizing models that once took weeks can be built and iterated overnight, with dynamic analysis. Interview transcripts that would take a week to synthesize can be pattern-matched across 200+ prior engagements in hours. Web data that was simply out of reach can now inform competitive positioning in real time. Ad hoc tools and analyses deliver insights to decision-making.
The human element — the commercial judgment, the ability to challenge a thesis, the expertise to know what the data is actually telling you honed with 15+ years of strategic consulting experience that doesn't go away. It gets sharper, because it's now working with a richer evidence base than was ever available before.
More signal, same timeline
AI tools surface patterns across datasets and prior engagements that would take weeks to find manually — delivered within the deal window.
Human judgment, amplified
Every output is reviewed and interpreted by a senior principal. AI accelerates the evidence base; experience determines what it means.
Insights that weren't possible before
Geographic market models, video analysis, web scrapers, custom survey tools — capabilities that simply didn't exist for boutique CDD firms until now.
Built for PE timelines, not research labs
Everything we build is designed to answer specific deal questions under real time pressure — not to showcase technology for its own sake.
AI analytics and custom tools to inform primary research and growth strategy.
We've spent years building deep CDD and strategy expertise alongside AI analytics capabilities - and it's the combination that makes the difference on complex deal work in a highly competitive market.
AI-Powered Due Diligence
AI analytics combined with 15+ years of due diligence work. Our custom tooling goes beyond interview synthesis – we design and build custom solutions to surface patterns and insights that traditional CDD analysis cannot deliver - all in compressed deal timelines.
- Faster synthesis across public and proprietary datasets
- Deep expertise from 200+ CDD engagements to understand what moves the needle
- Expert interview insight analysis and theme extraction
- Dynamic market sizing and what-if analysis
- Competitive benchmarking that incorporates web scraping to build a full picture
- Delivered on LOI-to-close timelines
Market Intelligence Platforms
We build proprietary data tools for due diligence and strategy for PE-backed companies. Local market analytics, video or image analysis, customer sentiment analysis, and ad hoc tools and scripts to inform strategy and deal dynamics.
- Pinpoint IQ - geographic market intelligence platform for roll-up target identification
- Geographic white space analysis at MSA level
- Population, penetration, and opportunity sizing
- Identification of product usage through video or image analysis
- Recurring intelligence, not one-time reports
AI Strategy & Implementation
We help portfolio companies and management teams understand where AI creates real competitive advantage - then we actually build it. Not just a roadmap. Not just recommendations. Execution.
- AI opportunity assessment for portfolio companies
- Build vs. buy vs. partner analysis
- Custom AI tool and bot development
- Management team AI fluency programs
- Emerging technology identification
AI in action. Real engagements.
Do recent trends in live entertainment create tailwinds for a special effects company?
A sports and entertainment investment firm needed a systematic way to catalog the use of special effects across thousands of live concert performances. 2nd St Strategy designed and deployed a custom AI-powered video analysis pipeline to review concert footage at scale across 2,000+ shows.
- Built a proprietary SFX database covering 2,000+ concerts — not available from any existing source
- Reduced research time from months of manual review to automated overnight processing via custom AI pipeline
How can a geographic market intelligence platform accelerate roll-up strategy for PE-backed businesses?
A PE-focused strategy firm needed a scalable way to deliver MSA-level market intelligence to clients evaluating acquisition targets in fragmented, geography-driven industries. 2nd St Strategy designed and built Pinpoint IQ, a proprietary SaaS platform replacing manual market sizing with dynamic, map-based analytics.
- Replaced weeks of manual market analysis with on-demand geographic intelligence across 939 U.S. MSAs
- Enables consistent, data-driven acquisition targeting for PE-backed roll-up strategies
Ready to talk about AI for your deal?
Tell us about the process — sector, stage, timeline. We move fast.
Get in touch