Technical due diligence (TDD) is an in-depth analysis of the state of a company from a technical perspective, including its products, technical infrastructure and architecture, product roadmap, services, practices, and IT staff. The TDD process is usually carried out prior to major corporate events such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or initial public offerings (IPOs). TDD is generally initiated by the investor, but a company may itself initiate TDD before seeking funds or investments. TDD can be executed by the investor or company’s in-house team, or by a third-party diligence agency.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the due diligence work I get to do for TechMiners. I get to investigate companies ranging from small AI startups to large software product enterprises by interviewing c-level and staff engineers, deep diving into the code and reading documentation to collect strengths, findings and recommendations. It is highly gratifying to see how our external perspective provides insights and value to both investors and investee.
TechMiners
TechMiners provides a comprehensive due diligence process and state-of-the-art tools, enabling the team of highly experienced team of CTOs to efficiently conduct deep analyses of an organization’s technology, team, culture, and scalability. Their evaluations cover a wide range of topics and employ various methods including questionnaires, automated data analysis, and C-level interviews to develop a nuanced understanding of a company’s operations. This, in turn, helps investors refine their investment hypotheses. https://techminers.com
Pragmatic general technical quality assessment for tech companies
properties
- assess the reliability and scope and opportunities arising from
- IT strategy
- applications
- processes
- infrastructure
- teams
- and how well they meet cyber security demands
- assess dependencies on IT vendors
typical process / steps
- Preparation: Define the scope of the due diligence process, including the specific technologies, systems, or companies to be evaluated.
- Documentation Review: Examine all relevant documents, such as technology descriptions, architecture diagrams, patents, licenses, contracts, and compliance certificates.
- Technical Assessment: Evaluate the technology’s architecture, scalability, reliability, security, and performance. This may involve code reviews, system performance tests, and security vulnerability scans.
- Intellectual Property Evaluation: Assess the ownership and validity of the technology’s intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
- Compliance Check: Ensure the technology complies with relevant industry standards, regulations, and laws.
- Market Analysis: Evaluate the technology’s market potential, competitiveness, and fit with current and future market trends.
- Financial Assessment: Analyze the cost of the technology, including development, maintenance, and operation costs, and compare it with its potential return on investment.
- Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks associated with the technology, such as technical, legal, financial, or market risks, and evaluate how these risks can be mitigated.
- Reporting: Compile a detailed report summarizing the findings of the due diligence process, including potential issues, risks, and recommendations.
- Decision Making: Based on the findings of the due diligence process, make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the technology acquisition, partnership, or investment.